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Journal  or  Narrative  of  a  Conspiracy 
Journal  ou  Dictation  d'une  Conspiration 


Journal  of 

Pontiac's  Conspiracy 
1763 


Published  by 
CLARENCE  MONROE  BURTON 

Under  the  Auspices  of  the 

Michigan    Society    of   the    Colonial   Wars 

Edited  by  M.  Agnes  Burton 


£tB 


r  J   6^ 


Speaker-Hiiies  Printinff  Company 
Detroit 


<^.^^^' 


Preface 

The  Pontiac  Manuscript,  or  journal,  has  for  years  been 
considered  the  most  important  document  in  existence  con- 
taining an  account  of  the  conspiracy  of  the  Ottawa  chief. 
It  has  twice  been  translated  and  is  the  foundation  of 
various  novels  and  dramas  picturing  the  times  of  the 
French  and  Indian  war.  It  is  the  document  upon  which 
Francis  Parkman  so  cleverly  built  his  history  of  the  events 
of  1763.  Its  history  so  far  as  known  has  been  related  by 
Parkman  and  by  others,  and  many  conjectures  have  been 
made  regarding  its  authorship.  That  it  was  originally  the 
work  of  a  Frenchman  is  evident  throughout.  The  appar- 
ent anxiety  to  place  the  French  in  a  favorable  light,  to 
explain  their  difficult  position  and  justify  their  actions 
could  only  have  been  expressed  by  a  Frenchman.  His 
knowledge  of  the  happenings  within  and  without  the  fort, 
his  familiarity  with  the  motives  and  actions  of  Pontiac,  is 
sufficient  proof  that  he  was  a  Frenchman  of  influence  both 
with  the  Indians  and  the  English.  His  description  of  the 
minute  details  attending  Pontiac's  councils  makes  it  im- 
possible to  doubt  the  author's  presence  on  those  occasions. 

The  manuscript  was  thought  to  have  been  written  by 
the  assistant  priest  of  Ste.  Anne's  Church,  and  the  fact 
that  the  manuscript  was  at  one  time  owned  by  Father 
Gabriel  Richard,  the  priest  who  was  in  charge  of  the  same 
church  from  1798-1832.  adds  color  to  this  conjecture.  A 
comparison,  however,  with  the  writing  of  that  priest  still 
preserved  in  St.  Anne's  records,  destroys  that  theory. 
Prof.  Ford  thinks  that  it  was  written  by  some  one  within 
the  fort,  and  suggests  Robert  Navarre.  Following  this 
suggestion,  a  comparison  of  this  document  with  many  of 
the  extant  records  in  the  hand  of  Navarre  seems  to  point 
to  a  satisfactory  solution.  Specimens  of  the  journal,  a 
page  from  Ste.  Anne's  Records  and  a  deed  by  Navarre  are 
given  herewith  for  the  purposes  of  comparison.  A  close 
examination  of  each  shows  similarity  between  the  journal 
and  the  Navarre  deed.  The  writer  is  not  as  neat  and 
painstaking  in  his  journal  as  in  his  public  papers,  but  the 


8  Preface 

same  style  and  form  of  writing  is  found  in  every  line. 
He  has  evidently  kept  an  accurate  chronology  of  daily 
events,  but  has  from  day  to  day  turned  back  and  filled  in 
with  more  minute  details,  as  for  example  the  description 
of  the  conduct  of  Luneau  on  pp.  140-142,  and  many  similar 
passages. 

Although  Navarre  did  not  reside  within  the  fort,  his 
easy  access  in  the  performance  of  his  duties  gave  him  the 
complete  knowledge  of  affairs   within. 

He  was  a  man  of  some  education,  had  been  the  Royal 
Notary  of  the  place  under  French  rule  and  hoped  to  con- 
tinue in  a  similar  office  after  the  British  came.  He  was 
recommended  by  the  British  Commandant  as  worthy  of 
confidence  and  was  retained  to  conduct  many  of  the  duties 
of  the  post  where  both  the  English  and  the  French  were 
concerned.  His  long  career  in  active  service,  begun  in  1734, 
had  made  him  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  languages  of 
the  Indians,  for  whom  he  frequently  acted  as  interpreter. 
At  the  time  of  the  siege  he  was  living  on  his  farm  on  the 
southwest  side  of  the  village.  This  farm  is  now  within 
the  limits  of  the  city  of  Detroit  and  bears  the  name  of 
Navarre  or  Brevoort  farm,  about  two  miles  below  the 
centre  of  the  city.  The  land  was  formerly  occupied  by 
the  Pottawattami  Indians  and  was  given  by  that  tribe  to 
their  friend,  Robert  Navarre,  whom  they  affectionately 
called  "Robiche."  Jean  Marie  Alexis  Navarre,  a  son  of 
Robert  Navarre,  was  born  and  baptized  at  the  house  of 
his  parents,  and  not  in  the  church,  on  Sept.  22,  1763.  The 
child  was  born  on  the  night  of  his  baptism,  and  the  church 
entry  was  made  the  following  day.  This  appears  from 
the  record  and  indicates  the  freedom  the  members  of  the 
Navarre  family  had  in  entering  the  besieged  town.  There- 
fore it  seems  quite  plausible  to  attribute  the  journal  to 
Robert  Navarre. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  the  editor  wishes  to  add  a 
word  concerning  Sir  Robert  Davers.  In  the  Acts  of  the 
Privy  Council,  Colonial  Series,  Vol.  i'/4yi'/66,  under  the 
date  of  Aug.  31,  1763,  there  is  a  petition  of  Sir  Robert 
Davers  to  the  Board  of  Trade  for  a  grant  of  Grosse  Isle 
and  several  other  little  islands  surrounding  it.  Isle  Aux 
Dinde  and  lands  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Detroit  river 
from  Lake  Erie  on  the  south  to  the  River  Aux  Canards 


Preface  9 

on  the  north.  Sir  Robert  was  killed  before  the  petition 
was  referred  to  the  Board,  as  recorded  in  the  diary,  and 
the  Indians  made  use  of  some  of  these  islands  during  the 
siege. 

C  M.  BURTON. 

Detroit,  Nov.,  1912. 


Translator's  Preface 

The  so-called  Pontiac  Manuscript  is  an  intensely  illumi- 
nating document  for  its  gossip,  information  and  folk-lore, 
and  the  various  side-lights  which  it  throws  on  the  memo- 
rable siege  of  Detroit  by  the  Indians  in  1763,  but  it  is 
historical  rather  than  literary,  as  even  the  most  hasty 
reader  will  perceive.  As  translator  I  have  been  concerned 
to  reproduce  the  original  in  an  intelligible,  if  not  elegant 
English,  and  at  the  same  time  to  leave  untouched  as  much 
as  possible  the  verbosity,  discursiveness,  and  repetitions, 
which  are  so  characteristic  of  the  early  work.  However, 
what  Pope  called  the  "illiteracies"  will  not  appear,  though 
interwoven  all  through  with  the  rhetorical  peculiarities : 
the  unknown  writer  displays  such  an  utter  indifference  to 
matters  of  punctuation,  spelling,  composition,  and  gram- 
mar that  it  would  be  hazardous  to  attempt  to  perpetuate 
any  of  his  vagaries.  Still,  it  is  certain  that  they  have 
added  greatly  to  the  task  of  translation.  Through  the  fact 
that  capital  letters  are  used  so  indiscriminately,  and  punc- 
tuation so  neglected  and  capricious,  it  is  frequently  diffi- 
cut  to  tell  where  phrases  or  sentences  end  or  begin;  and 
then,  outside  of  the  traditional  combinations  the  spelling 
is  surprisingly  phonetic,  which  helps  to  make  the  reading 
of  many  passages  and  parts  quite  a  tour  de  force. 

The  question  of  the  authorship  of  the  manuscript  has 
been  a  subject  of  speculation  at  different  times,  but  noth- 
ing definite  has  ever  been  established.  Parkman  in  his 
Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  draws  upon  the  facts  of  the  manu- 
script which  he  knew  through  a  copy  loaned  him  by  Gen. 
Lewis  Cass,  and  he  makes  the  statement  that  it  is  "con- 
jectured to  be  the  work  of  a  French  priest."  Since  he 
makes  general  acknowledgment  of  his  indebtedness  to 
Gen.  Cass  for  materials  dealing  with  the  war  and  Detroit, 
one  may  infer,  I  think,  that  he  was  merely  indorsing  a 
tradition  which  was  current  in  the  French  family  who  were 
in  possession  of  the  document  in  Gen.  Cass'  time. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  were  only  two  priests  at 
Detroit  during  the  period  of  the  siege :  Father  Potier,  Jes- 
uit missionary  to  the  Hurons,  v/hose  mission  was  on  what 


Translator's  Preface  11 

is  now  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river;  and  Father  Bocquet, 
a  Franciscan,  who  was  in  charge  of  St.  Anne's  church, 
within  the  enclosures  of  the  Fort. 

Now  as  to  Father  Potier:  There  are  several  specimens 
of  his  composition  and  writing  extant  and  nowhere  do 
they  show  the  least  resemblance  to  the  hand  of  the  Pontiac 
manuscript.  Father  Potier  wrote  an  almost  uncial  script, 
and  a  page  of  his  writing  reminds  one  of  the  painstaking 
efforts  of  some  mediaeval  copyist.  The  Pontiac  manu- 
script, on  the  other  hand,  is  in  the  ordinary  running  hand 
which  was  the  pride  of  the  French  writers  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Father  Potier  was  something  of  a  scholar,  also ;  he  com- 
posed a  Grammar  of  the  Huron  Language,  which  is  full 
of  Latin  terminology,  and  the  registry  of  baptisms  in  his 
parish  he  kept  in  Latin, — all  of  which  goes  to  show,  it 
seems  to  me,  that  he  would  hardly  be  guilty  of  such 
egregious  language  errors  as  the  Pontiac  manuscript 
abounds  in.  It  is  hard  to  imagine  a  man  with  any  sort 
of  Latin  training  using  in  his  mother  tongue  singular  verbs 
for  plurals  and  vice  versa,  or  disregarding  the  commonest 
gender  agreements,  or  composing  sentences  so  loose  and 
rambling  in  structure  as  frequently  to  be  almost  inane. 
The  fact  is,  the  good  father  did  not  write  French  that 
way.  For  many  years  he  kept  a  Livre  de  Compte,  or 
account  book,  of  the  business  transactions  of  his  mission, 
and  while  he  treated  the  matter  of  capital  letters  with  some 
startling  liberality,  his  spelling  and  syntax  are  quite  reli- 
able. Another  point :  Whenever  he  signs  his  name  in  the 
records  it  is  always  Potier,  yet  the  writer  of  the  manu- 
script frequently,  commonly,  in  fact,  refers  to  him  as 
Poitier.  Now  I  do  not  believe  he  would  all  at  once  have 
developed  such  carelessness  in  regard  to  his  own  name, 
even  in  his  old  age. 

Another  point:  According  to  Elliott's  investigations 
into  the  history  of  the  Jesuit  missions  at  Detroit,  Father 
Potier  enjoyed  the  very  closest  friendship  with  that  Bap- 
tiste  or  Pierre  Meloche  who  lived  up  above  the  Fort  and 
was  Pontiac's  intimate  and  adviser,  and  he  was  himself  on 
friendly  terms  with  him.  Now,  though  it  is  certain  that 
among  all  the  habitants  of  the  region  Meloche  was  deepest 
in  Pontiac's  councils,   it   is  equally  plain  that  the  writer 


12  Translator's  Preface 

of  the  manuscript  had  no  regard  for  Pontiac,  as  is  evident 
from  more  than  one  statement  which  characterizes  him  as 
murderous,  treacherous,  dishonest,  and  pagan. 

The  greatest  argument,  however,  against  Father  Potier's 
authorship  of  the  manuscript  is  the  internal  evidence  of 
the  document  itself  which,  in  my  opinion,  points  unmis- 
takably to  some  writer  within  the  Fort  who,  through  the 
intercourse  which  was  constantly  kept  up  between  the 
French  of  the  village  and  stockade  and  the  settlers  up 
and  down  the  river,  and  the  friendly  relations  which  were 
enjoyed  with  the  Indians,  knew  all  that  was  going  on  and 
was  thus  able  to  discuss  and  describe  events  with  a  sur- 
prising show  of  familiarity. 

Still,  when  one  comes  to  examine  the  manuscript  narra- 
tive carefully  it  is  seen  that  there  is  a  marked  difference 
in  the  treatment  of  various  parts ;  occurrences  and  doings 
among  the  Indians  are  sketched  with  seeming  fidelity  and 
objectivity,  yet  with  a  knowledge  which  might  easily  have 
been  gained  from  rumor  and  gossip  circulating  among  the 
French  and  Indians;  on  the  other  hand,  everything  which 
has  to  do  with  the  life  of  the  garrison,  especially  in  the 
martial  aspect  of  events  as  they  unroll  from  day  to  day, 
is  given  with  all  possible  detail  and  circumstance.  In  fact, 
the  atmosphere  is  the  atmosphere  of  the  Fort,  and  the 
viewpoint  that  of  an  eye-witness.  Chit-chat  about  this 
and  that ;  such  statements  as  "It  was  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Commandant  at  three  o'clock,"  or  "At  five 
o'clock  it  was  known  in  the  Fort  by  a  Frenchman  who 
had  gone  out,"  or  "News  reached  the  Fort  at  four  o'clock" ; 
the  exact  number  of  men  who  engaged  in  the  various 
sorties;  all  the  interesting  and  loquacious  details  of  the 
erection  of  the  cavalier  or  portable  bastion;  such  turns  as 
"The  Indians  came  to  fire  on  the  Fort,"  etc. ;  the  thickness 
of  planking  in  certain  boats  and  the  length  of  chains  used 
with  grappling  hooks;  casual  reference  to  the  fact  that 
people  heard  shots  fired  in  this  or  that  direction, — all  this 
and  much  more  like  it  helps  to  weave  a  tissue  of  petty 
detail  which  is  so  significant  as  a  whole.  It  is  therefore 
pretty  certain  that  the  Fort  is  the  real  locus  of  the  com- 
position. 

Now,  who  of  all  the  French  within  the  Fort  might  have 
been  the  author  of  the  manuscript?     When  this  question 


Translator's  Preface  13 

is  asked  everyone  thinks  at  once  of  Father  Bocquet,  the 
Recollect  curate  of  St.  Anne's,  for  he  was  in  the  very 
center  of  events  and  abundantly  qualified  to  write  a  most 
interesting  story.     But  did  he  do  so? 

With  Father  Bocquet,  as  with  Father  Potier,  it  is  a 
question  of  scholarship  which  is  the  disturbing  one.  As 
one  reads  over  the  records  of  St.  Anne's  church  left  by 
Father  Bocquet  one  is  struck  by  their  clearness  and  exact- 
ness; they  are  carefully  made.  And  on  those  occasions 
where  there  was  reason  for  more  than  the  stereotyped 
statements  he  writes  with  a  command  of  the  language  and 
an  observance  of  its  forms  which  are  entirely  lacking  in 
the  manuscript.  In  fact,  it  would  seem  quite  impossible 
that  the  hand  which  wrote  the  accurate  parish  register 
could  be  the  same  one  which  composed  the  rambling  and 
more  or  less  illiterate  story  of  the  siege. 

The  author  of  the  journal-like  narrative  makes  mention 
of  the  church  holy  days  as  they  come  along,  but  with  one 
singular  omission :  he  notes  Sunday,  May  22,  as  Pentecost, 
but  no  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  following 
Sunday.  May  29,  is  trinity  Sunday  (fete  de  la  Trinite), 
though  he  records  again  that  Thursday,  June  2,  is  Corpus 
Christi  Day,  and  June  9  is  Little  Corpus  Christi  Day.  The 
church  records  give  ample  evidence  that  Father  Bocquet 
was  exact  and  painstaking  in  his  churchly  duties,  and  even 
the  Pontiac  manuscript  bears  witness  in  more  than  one 
place  to  his  punctilious  regard  for  church  observances ;  it 
seems,  therefore,  hard  to  believe  that  he  would  have 
neglected  an  important  entry  like  that  in  his  journal,  sur- 
rounded as  it  was  with  other  festival  days.  Undoubtedlv 
the  narrative  was  composed  after  the  siege,  either  from 
memoranda  or  brief  diarial  notes,  but  this  would  make 
such  an  oversight  in  a  well-trained  priest  just  as  unlikely. 

Again  the  question  recurs,  Who  did  write  the  Pontiac 
manuscript?     And  after  having  spun  my  theories  so   far 
I  am  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  no  one  knows.     One 
of  Goethe's  characters  in  his  Iphigenia  says : 
"Much  talking  is  not  needed  to  refuse. 
The  other  hears  in  all  naught  but  the  No !" 
And  probably  some  who  have  followed  this  foreword  so 
far  will  think  the  same.    The  elimination  of  the  two  priests 
from  likelihood  of  the  authorship  has  not  solved  the  prob- 


14  Translator's  Preface 

lem,  however  much  it  may  have  narrowed  it  down.  It 
draws  the  cordon,  as  it  were,  a  Httle  tighter  around  the 
Fort,  but  as  in  the  days  of  the  siege  there  is  still  plenty 
of  opportunity  for  the  Frenchman  to  escape.  And  so  far 
he  has  done  so. 

In  all  probability,  if  the  manuscript  were  intact  to-day, 
or  if  what  is  left  were  perfectly  whole  and  legible,  the 
identity  of  the  writer  would  be  disclosed;  it  is  quite  likely 
that  many  marginal  notes  are  missing,  as  some  even  now 
are  almost  if  not  quite  obscured.  And  it  is  quite  likely, 
too,  that  the  missing  pages  of  the  conclusion  of  the  manu- 
script may  have  held  the  writer's  name,  for  it  does  not 
sound  like  an  anonymous  document. 

Now  if  I  were  to  hazard  a  conjecture  as  to  the  author 
I  should  say  it  was  probably — notice  the  probably — Robert 
Navarre,  "the  Scrivener,"  once  sub-intendant  and  notary 
at  Fort  Pontchartrain  for  the  French  king,  and  in  the  days 
of  the  British  occupation  still  keeping  the  notarial  records. 
The  manuscript  is  entirely  silent  about  him,  a  very  sig- 
nificant fact,  it  seems  to  me,  for  he  was  exceedingly  well 
known  and  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  settlement.  He 
was  a  man  of  parts,  with  an  intelligence  half  literary,  half 
military,  and  especially  well  fitted  to  appreciate  all  that  was 
happening  around  him. 

I  cannot  close  this  little  disquisition  without  expressing 
a  translator's  joy  over  the  many  quaint  and  curious  words 
and  phrases  which  I  have  come  upon  in  the  perusal  of  the 
old  document.  The  French  of  Detroit  in  that  early  day. 
shut  away  as  the  post  was  from  intercourse  with  the 
mother  country,  was  in  many  respects  the  French  of  an 
older  period,  with  a  large  number  of  special  words  and 
phrases  which  had  come  from  life  in  the  wilderness. 
Twice  in  the  manuscript  occurred  the  word  sacqiiaquois, 
used  with  a  feeling  quite  French;  but  though  the  word 
was  evidently  Gallicised  it  was  just  as  plainly  not  French. 
Suspecting  that  it  was  Indian  I  submitted  it  to  a  Chippewa 
friend  who  on  more  than  one  occasion  has  helped  me  in 
similar  difficulties;  he  recognized  the  w^ord  at  once  from 
its  Chippewa  cognate  as  meaning  a  "yell  or  shout  of 
victory." 

This  old  story  of  the  siege  of  Detroit  is  a  chronicle  out 
of  age  long  past,  and  yet  it  is  a  story  wath  so  much  human 


Translator's  Preface  15 

interest  in  it  that  it  ought  to  prove  fascinating  reading  to 
the  descendants  of  those  first  settlers  of  Detroit,  and  to  all 
others  who  call  themselves  the  city's  children.  Mr,  Burton, 
by  bringing  it  to  public  notice  again  and  putting  it  within 
the  reach  of  every  one,  is  doing  a  real  service  to  the 
people  of  Detroit  and  the  commonwealth. 

R.  CLYDE  FORD. 
Ypsilanti,  Mich. 
Dec.  25,  1910. 


Journal  or  Narrative  of  a 
Conspiracy 

OF  THE  INDIANS  AGAINST  THE  ENGLISH,  AND  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  FORT 

DETROIT  BY  FOUR  DIFFERENT  NATIONS 

(Bejdnning)  May  7,  1763 

Pontiad,  great  chief  of  all  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas, 
Pottawattamies,  and  all  the  nations  of  the  lakes  and  rivers 
of  the  north,  was  a  proud,  vindictive,  war-like  and  easily 
offended  man.  Under  pretext  of  some  fancied  insult  from 
Mr.  Gladwyn-,  Commandant  of  the  Fort,  he  concluded  that, 
inasmuch  as  he  was  the  great  chief  of  all  the  nations  of 
the  north,  only  himself  and  members  of  his  own  nation 
ought  to  occupy  this  part  of  the  world,  where,  for  some 
sixty  odd  years,  the  French  had  lived  for  purposes  of  trade, 
and  which  the  English  had  governed  for  three  years  by 
virtue  of  the  conquest  of  Canada.  This  chief,  and  his 
whole  nation  for  that  matter,  whose  only  bravery  lies  in 
the  treachery  which  he  is  able  to  inspire  by  his  suave  ex- 
terior, resolved  within  himself  to  wrest  the  lands  away 
from  the  English  and  the  French  people. 

In  order  to  succeed  in  his  project  which  he  had  not  as 
yet  communicated  to  any  of  his  nation,  the  Ottawas,  Pon- 
tiac  enlisted  them  in  his  cause  by  an  address,  and  they  did 


'Pontiac  was  the  principal  chief  of  the  Ottawas  and  the  virtual  head  of  a  con- 
federacy of  Ottawas,  OjibwaS  and  Pottawatomies,  his  influence  spreading  over  all 
the  nations  of  the  Illinois  region.  Several  tribes,  the  Miamis,  Sacs  and  others 
claimed  connection  with  him  but  it  is  more  generally  accepted  that  he  was  born 
among  the  Ottawas,  son  of  an  Ottawa  woman.  He  was  about  fifty  years  old  when 
in  the  fall  of  1762  he  sent  messages  with  war  belts  to  all  the  tribes  far  and  wide, 
calling  upon  the  Indians  to  unite  and  fall  upon  the  English.  After  the  failure 
cf  his  plans,  the  tribes  were  gradually  won  back  to  peace  with  the  English,  but 
Pontiac  held  aloof  for  some  time  before  he  finally  (Aug.,  ITGJ)  made  peace 
through  George  Croghan.  He  was  assassinated  in  1769  at  a  council  held  among 
the  Illinois.  \'arious  stories  as  to  the  manner  of  his  death  are  found;  one,  that 
he  married  a  Peorie  w-hom  he  abused  so  shockingly  that  her  tribe  surprised  and 
killed  him,  for  which  the  Ottawas  completely  exterminated  the  race  by  way  of 
1  evenge.  Carver  relates  that  a  faithful  Indian  who  had  either  been  commis- 
sioned by  one  of  the  English  governors  or  instigated  by  his  love  for  the  English, 
attended  him  as  a  spy  when  Pontiac  held  a  council  in  Illinois,  and  being  con- 
vinced that  his  speech  was  suspicious,  he  instantly  killed  him.  Parkman  relates 
that  Pontiac,  while  among  the  Illinois  at  Cahokia,  went  to  a  feast  where  he  became 
drvink  and  wandered  away  toward  the  woods  singing  Medicine  songs.  An  English 
trader,  Williamson,  bribed  an  Indian  of  the  Kaskaskia  tribe  to  follow  and  kill 
the  chief.  This  was  done  and  when  the  murder  was  discovered,  his  friends 
banded  together  and  exterminated  the  whole  race  of  Illinois.  In  the  main  cor- 
ridor of  the  Southern  Hotel  in  St.  Louis,  the   St.   Louis  chapter  of  the  D.   A.   R. 

16 


Journal  ou  Dictation  d'une 
Conspiration 

FAITE  PAR  LES  SAUVAGES  CONTRE  LES  ANGLAIS,  ET  DU  SIEGE  DU  FORT 

DE  DETROIX  PAR  QUATRE  NATIONS  DIFFERENTES 

LE  7  MAY,  1763 

Pondiak  grand  chefs  de  tous  les  outaouis,  sauteux,  paux 
et  toutes  les  nations  des  lacs  et  rivieres  du  nord,  homme 
orgueilleux,  vindicatif,  beliqueux  et  tres  aise  a  choque, 
sous  pretexte  de  quelque  insulte  qu'il  cru  avoir  regue  de 
la  part  de  Mr.  Gladouine,  commandant  du  fort,  se  figura 
que  etant  grand  chef  de  toutes  les  nations  du  nord  qu'il 
n'y  avait  que  Luy  et  ceux  de  sa  nation  qui  devoient  habiter 
cette  partie  de  terre ;  ou  depuis  pres  de  Soixante  et  quelques 
annees  Les  franqois  fesoient  Leurs  domicille  pour  La 
facilite  du  Commerce  avec  eux  et  que  Les  anglois  gou- 
vernoient  depuis  trois  ans  par  La  conqueste  du  Canada; 
le  chef  et  toute  sa  nation  dont  sa  bravoure  est  dans  la 
trahison  qu'ils  sa  facine  par  de  beau  dehors,  resolue  en 
Lui  niesme  La  perte  de  terre  de  la  nation  angloise  et 
Canadienne;  Et  pour  reussir  a  Son  projets  qu'il  n'avait 
pas  encore  communique  a  aucun  de  sa  nation  outaouaise, 
il  Les  engagea  dans  son  parti  par  une  harangue,  eux  qui 
tous  porte  qu'ils  sont  volontairement  aux  malices,  ne  ba- 

has  erected  a  tablet,   marking  the   burial  place  of   Pontiac,   the  friend    of   St.   Ange, 
killed  at   Cahokia,   111.,  in  April,   1769. 

Robert  Rogers,   Gen.  Alex.   Macomb   and  A.    C.    IVhifttey  have  used  the   Siege 
of   Detroit   as   a   theme   for   a   tragedy   and   Pontiac    as   its   hero. 

^Henry  Gladwin,  son  of  TTiomas  Gladwin,  was  born  in  1730.  In  1753  he  was 
serving  in  the  army  as  lieutenant  of  the  4Sth  Foot  and  in  1755  subaltern  in 
Col.  Dunbar's  regiment  at  the  time  of  Braddock's  defeat  at  Little  Meadows.  In 
1759  he  served  as  major  under  Gage  and  in  1760  was  sent  to  relieve  Niagara. 
His  appointment  as  major  was  not  approved  by  the  home  government  until 
June  22,  1761.  Owing  to  the  unrest  of  the  Indians  about  Detroit,  Sir  William 
Johnson  and  Maj.  Gladwin  went  to  that  place  in  the  summer  of  1761,  reaching 
their  destination  Aug.  17.  During  this  visit  Gladwin  had  an  attack  of  fever 
and  ague  and  was  unable  to  leave  the  place  until  Oct.  12.  After  leaving  Detroit 
Gladwin  sailed  for  England  and  there  on  the  30th  of  March,  1762,  he  married 
Frances,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Beridge.  On  Aug.  23  of  that  year  he  was 
again  in  Detroit  as  Commandant.  After  Pontiac's  siege  in  the  fall  of  1764, 
Gladwin  returned  to  England  where  he  settled  down  to  the  life  of  a  country 
gentleman.  He  died  at  his  country  home  June  22,  1791,  aged  sixty-two  years. 
His  wife  Frances,  who  died  Oct.  16,  1817,  aged  seventy-four,  a  son  Charles  and 
three  datighters  survived   him. 

Henrv  Gladzvin  and  the  Gladzmn  MMS.  by  Charles  Moore,  Mich.  Pion.  and 
Hist.   Colls.,    Vol.   XXVII. 

17 


18  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

not  hesitate  to  obey  him,  all  inclined  to  wickedness  as  they 
are.  But  as  they  alone  were  too  weak  for  this  enterprise 
the  chief  tried  by  means  of  a  council  to  draw  over  to  his 
side  the  Pottawattamies^.  This  nation  was  controlled  by 
a  chief  named  Ninivois,  a  weak  and  easily  influenced  man ; 
and  knowing  that  Pontiac  was  his  superior  chief  and 
treacherous,  he  and  his  whole  tribe  joined  him.  The  two 
nations  together  comprised  about  four  hundred  men.  This 
number  not  yet  seeming  large  enough,  it  was  a  question  of 
drawing  into  their  project  the  Hurons^  who  were  divided 
into  two  bands  under  two  different  chiefs  of  different  char- 
acter. However,  the  same  Jesuit  father,  their  missionary, 
controlled  them  both. 

The  two  chiefs  of  this  latter  nation  were  called  the  one 
Takay,  who  was  like  Pontiac  in  character,  the  other  Teata'^, 
who  was  a  very  cautious  and  extremely  prudent  man.  The 
last  named,  not  of  a  disposition  to  do  wrong,  was  not  easily 
won  over.  Not  caring  to  listen  to  Pontiac's  messengers  he 
sent  them  back  as  they  had  come.  They  then  went  to  the 
other  band  of  the  Hurons  who  listened  to  them  and  re- 
ceived from  them  war-belts  to  join  Pontiac  and  Ninivois, 
the  Ottawa  and  Chippewa  chiefs;  and  it  was  voted  by 
means  of  wampum  which  even  distant  savages  use  for 
adornment  that  there  would  be  a  council  on  the  27th  of 
April,  when  the  day  and  hour  of  the  attack  w^ould  be  fixed, 
and  the  necessary  measures  determined  in  order  that  their 
plans  might  not  be  discovered.  And  so  it  was  decided  in 
the  way  I  have  mentioned  before  that  the  council  should 
be  held  on  the  15th  of  the  moon, — a  way  of  reckoning 


'Pottawattamies  had  a  village  below  the  fort  where  the  town  Springwells  was 
located. 

*The  Hurons  or  Wyandots  had  a  village  on  the  Canadian  shore  where  the 
town  of  Sandwich  was  later  located.  Part  of  the  Huron  Mission  house  is  still 
standing  (1913).  As  early  as  172S  Father  Armand  de  La  Richardie,  S.  J.,  estab- 
lished  himself  on  the  south  shore  of  the  Detroit  River,  ministering  to  the  spirit- 
ual wants  of  the  colonists  and  Indians  on  that  side  of  the  river.  He  built  a 
mission  house  and  a  chapel.  In  1743  Father  Potier  was  sent  to  assist  him  and 
for  a  while  had  charge  of  a  mission  on  Bois  Blanc  Island.  This  mission  was 
closed  in  1747  and  Potier  went  to  the  Huron  Mission.  Up  to  this  time  the 
Hurons  had  lived  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  near  the  mouth  of  the  Sav- 
oyard River,  but  in  1747  they  moved  to  the  southern  side  of  the  Detroit  river 
where   they   built   a    new   village.      Here   they    resided   until   the    19th    century.      De 


JOURNAL  OU    DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  19 

lancerent  pas  a  Luy  obeir,  mais  comme  ils  se  trouvoient 
trop  faibles  pour  cette  entreprise  Le  chef  essaya  dattire 
dans  son  party,  la  nation  poux  par  un  Conseil.  Cette 
nation  etait  gouverne  par  un  chef  nomee,  ninivois,  homme 
sans  desseins,  et  fort  facil  a  entrainer  et  qui  Connaissait 
pondiak  pour  son  principal  chef  et  d'un  caractere  felonique 
L'ecouta  Lui  et  tout  sa  bande  et  se  joignerent  a  Luy,  ses 
deux  nations  composoient  environ  quatre  cents  hommes, 
ce  nombre  ne  Luy  paraissait  pas  encore  suffisant:  il  Sagis- 
sait  de  mettre  dans  leurs  projets  La  nation  huronne,  qui 
divise  en  deux  Bande  etoient  gouverne  par  deux  chefs 
different  et  de  different  caractere.  Et  cependant  tous  etoient 
conduit  par  le  Superieur,  pere  Jesuite,  Leur  missionnaire. 
Les  deux  chefs  de  cette  derniere  nation,  se  nommoient, 
L'un  take  du  mesme  caractere  que  pondiak  et  I'autre  se 
nommait  teata,  homme  fort  circonspect,  d'une  prudence 
consommee;  ce  dernier  n'etait  pas  facil  a  entraine  n'etant 
point  d'un  naturel  a  mal  faire,  ne  voulu  point  ecoute  les 
deputes  de  pondiak,  Les  renvoya  comme  ils  etoient  venus; 
ceux  cy  aux  premiers  de  cette  derniere  nation,  de  qui  ils 
furent  ecoutes  et  regus  colliers  de  gueres  pour  se  joindre 
a  pondiak  et  ninivois  chefs  outaouis  et  sauteux,  et  il  fut 
resolue  par  des  branches  de  porcelaine,  maniere  de  se  paree 
a  la  fagon  sauvage  eloigne  qu'il  aurait  un  conseil  le  27 
d'Avril,  aussi,  assigne  le  jour  et  I'heure  de  I'attaque  et 
qu'il  serait  necessaire  de  prendre  des  mesures  pour 
empecher  d'etre  pas  decouvert  dans  leurs  plans,  comme 
c'est  une  fagon  de  compter  parmis  Les  Sauvages  il  fut 
alors  decide  par  les  paroles  dont  jay  parle  cy  dessus  que 


la  Richardie  returned  tvi  Quebec  in  1753  and  died  there  March  23,  1758,  leav- 
ing Potier  the  entire  charge  of  the  mission.  Potier  left  some  interesting  account 
books  and  church  records  which  are  printed  and  translated  in  the  Jesuit  Rela- 
tions and  in  the  United  States  Catholic  Historical  Magazine,  Vol.  IV.  He  con- 
ducted his  mission  until  his  death,  which  occurred  as  the  result  of  an  accident, 
and  was  buried  July  18,   1781.     Ontario  Hist.,  Soc.  Papers  and  Records,    Vol.   VII. 

^Teata's  name  apoears  in  the  records  of  the  church  of  the  Assumption  as  late 
as  1791,  when  he  stood  sponser  at  the  baptism  of  a  young  Indian  child.  His 
wife,  r^Iarguerite,  was  buried  at  Assumption,  May  14,  1799,  and  at  the  tim; 
was  called  the  widow  of  the  late  Ttata,  chief  Huron  of  Monguagon.  Records  of 
the  Church   of  the  Assumption. 


20  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE   OF    A    CONSPIRACY 

time  among  the  Indians — which  was  Wednesday,  the  37th 
of  April. 

When  the  day  agreed  upon  for  the  council  had  arrived, 
the  Pottawattamies,  led  by  Ninivois,  and  the  Hurons  by 
Takay,  betook  themselves  to  the  rendezvous  which  was  on 
the  Ecorce  River  ten  miles  from  the  fort  toward  the  south- 
west,— a  place  which  Pontiac  had  chosen  for  his  camp  at 
the  breaking  up  of  the  winter  so  as  not  to  be  disturbed  in 
his  schemes.  This  move  which  was  something  new  for 
him  and  his  people  caused  the  French  to  wonder,  without 
however,  enabling  them  to  see  the  reason  for  it,  because 
the  Indians  are  very  whimsical  anyway. 

The  council  of  the  three  nations,  Ottawas,  Pottawat- 
tamies, and  the  bad  Huron  band,  took  place  and  was  pre- 
sided over  by  Pontiac  in  his  capacity  of  head  chief  of  all 
the  northern  nations.  He  made  a  speech,  and  as  a  reason 
for  his  action  exhibited  war-belts  which  he  claimed  he  had 
received  from  his  Great  Father,  the  King  of  France,  to 
induce  him  to  attack  the  English.  He  also  spoke  of  pre- 
tended insults  which  he  and  his  nation  had  received  from 
the  Commandant  and  the  English  officers,  and  even  men- 
tioned how  a  sentinel  had  struck  one  of  his  followers  with 
a  gun  while  pursuing  a  woman  who  was  his  cousin. 

They  listened  to  him  as  chief,  and  in  order  to  flatter  his 
vanity  and  excite  his  pride  they  promised  to  do  whatever 
he  wished.  Delighted  to  find  so  much  loyalty  among  the 
three  nations  which  numbered  four  hundred  and  sixty  men, 
he  craftily  made  use  of  their  weakness  to  get  complete  con- 
trol over  them.  To  accomplish  this  he  related  in  the  coun- 
cil the  story  of  a  Wolf®  (Delaware)  Indian,  who  had 
journeyed  to  Heaven  and  talked  with  the  Master  of  Life. 
He  spoke  with  so  much  eloquence  that  his  narrative  had 
just  the  effect  upon  them  that  he  desired. 

This   story   deserves  a  place  here   since   it   contains   in 


^Wolf:  "Loups"  in  French,  who  called  themselves  Lenni  Lenape,  meaning 
original  men,  but  also  called  by  the  English,  the  Delawares.  Mich.  Pion.  Colls., 
Vol.   VIII.  p.  268. 


JOURNAL,   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  21 

le  Conseil  se  tiendrait  le  15eme  de  la  Lune  qui  etait  le 
mercredi  le  27  du  mois  d'avril. 

Le  jour  nomme  pour  le  conseil  venijs,  Les  poux  conduit 
par  ninivois  et  les  hurons  par  take  se  rendirent  au  ren- 
devous  qui  etait  a  la  riviere  aux  ecorse  a  quatre  Lieux 
audessous  du  fort,  tirans  au  sorouest,  lieu  que  pondiak 
avait  choisi  pour  placer  son  camp  au  sortis  d'hivernement 
pour  n'etre  pas  inquiete  dans  ses  projets.  Cette  demarche 
que  Luy  n'y  ses  gens  n'avoient  pas  coutume  de  faire 
donnait  a  penser  aux  fran^ais,  sans  cependant  en  penetrer 
la  cause  parce  que  d'ordinaire  Les  Sauvages  sont  assez 
fantasque. 

Le  conseil  se  tint  entre  les  trois  nations :  Outasoise,  poux 
et  la  mauvaise  bande  des  hurons,  ou  pondiak  en  qualite 
de  grand  chef  de  tous  les  nations  du  nord  presida  et 
prenant  la  parole  il  exposa  pour  raison  qui  le  fesait  agir 
des  pretendus  colliers  qu'il  disait  avoir  regu  de  son  grand 
pere  Le  Roy  de  france  pour  frape  sur  les  anglais  et  joins 
aux  pretendus  insultes  que  Luy  et  Ceux  de  sa  nation 
avoient  regue  du  Commandant  et  des  officiers  anglais, 
jusque  a  un  Coup  de  bourade  qu'un  Soldat  Sentinel -avait 
donne  a  un  de  ses  gens  en  suivant  sa  Cousine,  il  fut 
ecoute  de  tous  Comme  leur  chef  et  qui  pour  flatter  sa 
vanite  et  rehausser  son  orgeuille  Luy  promirent  de  faire 
ses  volontes.  Lui  charme  de  voir  dans  les  trois  nations 
qui  composaient  460  homme,  tant  de  soumission,  en 
homme  ruse,  profitat  de  leur  faiblesse  pour  avoir  sur  eux 
tout  empire,  pour  cette  effet  il  Leur  rapporta  dans  le 
Conseil  une  histoire  d'un  Sauvage  Loup  qui  avait  ete 
au  ciel,  parle  au  maitre  de  la  vie,  mais  avec  d'eloquence 
quelle  fit  sur  eux  tout  I'effet  qu'il  sen  etait  promis. 

Cette  histoire  merite  icy  sa  place  puisquelle  est  comme 
Le  principe  du  plus  noir  des  attentats  sur  la  nation  anglaise 


22  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF    A    CONSPIRACY 

blackest  aspect  the  reason  of  the  attack  upon  the  English, 
and  upon  the  French  too,  perhaps,  if  God  in  His  mercy 
had  not  disposed  differently.     It  is  as  follows'^ : 

An  Indian  of  the  Wolf  nation,  eager  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Master  of  Life, — this  is  the  name  for 
God  among  all  the  Indians — resolved  to  undertake  the 
journey  to  Paradise,  where  he  knew  He  resided,  without 
the  knowledge  of  any  of  his  tribe  or  village.  But  the 
question  was  how  to  succeed  in  his  purpose  and  find  the 
way  thither.  Not  knowing  anyone  who  had  been  there  and 
was  thus  able  to  teach  him  the  road,  he  had  recourse  to 
incantation  in  the  hope  of  deriving  some  good  augury  from 
his  trance.  As  a  rule  all  the  Indians,  even  those  who  are 
enlightened,  are  subject  to  superstition,  and  put  a  good 
deal  of  credence  in  their  dreams  and  those  things  which 
one  has  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  wean  them  from.  This 
episode  will  be  proof  of  what  I  say. 

This  Wolf  Indian  in  his  dream  imagined  that  he  had 
only  to  set  out  and  by  dint  of  travelling  would  arrive  at  the 
celestial  dwelling.  This  he  did  the  next  day.  Early  in  the 
morning  he  arose  and  equipped  himself  for  a  hunting 
journey,  not  forgetting  to  take  provisions  and  ammunition, 
and  a  big  kettle.  Behold  him  then  setting  out  like  that  on 
his  journey  to  Heaven  to  see  the  Master  of  Life. 

The  first  seven  days  of  his  journey  were  quite  favorable 
to  his  plans ;  he  walked  on  without  growing  discouraged, 
always  with  a  firm  belief  that  he  would  arrive  at  his  des- 
tination, and  eight  days  went  by  without  his  encountering 
anything  which  could  hinder  him  in  his  desire.  On  the 
evening  of  the  eighth  day  he  halted  at  sunset  as  usual,  at 
the  opening  to  a  little  prairie  upon  the  bank  of  a  stream 
which  seemed  to  him  a  suitable  camping  place.  As  he  was 
preparing  his  shelter  for  the  night  he  beheld  at  the  other 
end  of  this  prairie  where  he  camped,  three  roads,  wide  and 
plainly  marked.     This  struck  him  as  singular,  nevertheless. 


'Schoolcraft  has  translated   and  printed  this  story  in  his  Algic  Researches,  Vol. 
1.  p.   339. 


JOURNAL  OU    DICTATION   d'unE    CONSPIRATION  23 

et  peut  etre  sur  les  frangais  Sy  Dieu  par  sa  grace  n'en  eu 
dispose  autrement. 

Cette  histoire  est  Conqu  en  ces  termes,  un  sauvage  de 
la  nation  Loup,  envieux  de  voir  et  de  connaitre  Le 
maitre  de  la  vie,  C'est  ainsi  que  tous  Les  Sauvages  ap- 
pellent  le  Bon  Dieu  Resolii  d'entreprendre  Le  voyage  du 
paradis  ou  il  savait  quel  etait  sa  Residence  sans  en  rien 
Communique  a  Ceux  de  sa  nation  ny  de  son  village, 
mais  il  etait  question  pour  reussir  a  son  projet  de  Sgavoir 
Le  chemin  qui  y  mene,  come  il  ne  Connaissait  personne  qui 
y  ayant  ete,  pii,  Luy  enseigner  La  route,  se  mis  a  jongler 
dans  I'esperance  de  tirer  Bonne  augure  de  sa  reverie, 
Comme  une  regie  general  que  tous  Les  Sauvages,  mesme 
ceux  qui  sont  affranchis  sont  sujets  a  la  Supertition  en 
ajoutant  beaucoup  de  foy  a  leurs  Songes  et  ce  dont  on  a 
Bien  de  la  peine  a  Les  faire  revenir,  Cette  histoire  donnera 
une  preuve  de  ce  Javance. 

Savage  Loup  dans  Sa  reverie,  S'imagina  qu'il  n'avait 
qu'a  Se  mettre  en  chemin  et  qu'il  parviendrait  a  force 
demarche  a  la  demeure  celeste,  ce  qu'il  fit  le  lendemain,  de 
grand  matin,  il  Szabille  et  S'equipe  en  voyageur  de  chasse 
sans  oublier  de  prendre  ses  provisions  et  Ses  ammuni- 
tions et  une  grande  chaudiere,  puis  comme  cela  le  voila 
parti  pour  son  voyage  le  Ciel,  y  voir  Le  maitre  de  la  vie, 
Les  premiers  sept  jours  de  Son  voyage  furent  assez  fa- 
v^orable  a  Ses  desseins,  il  marchat  Sans  Se  decourager, 
ayant  toujours  une  ferme  confiance  qu'il  arriverait  a  son 
but,  puis  huit  jours  s'etait  deja  ecoule  Sans  qu'il  rencontra 
qui  que  ce  Soit  qui  piat  etre  un  obstacle  a  Ses  desirs, 
Sur  le  Soir  du  huitieme  jour,  au  Soleil  couchant  suivant 
I'ordinaire  il  S'arrete  a  I'entre  d'une  petite  praierie  qui 
Luy  pari!  propre  a  Camper  sur  le  bord  d'un  ruisseau,  en 
preparant  Son  logement  il  appercu  a  L'autre  bout  de  cette 
praierie  ou  il  campoit.  trois  chemins  Bien  Large  et  Bien 
fraye  qui   Lui  parurent  avoir  quelque  chose  de  singulier 


24  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF    A    CONSPIRACY 

he  went  on  working  on  his  shelter  so  as  to  be  protected 
from  the  weather,  and  made  a  fire.  While  doing  his  cook- 
ing he  thought  he  noticed  that  the  three  roads  became  all 
the  brighter  the  darker  it  grew,  a  thing  which  surprised 
him  to  the  point  of  fear.  He  hesitated  for  some  time  over 
what  he  should  do,  whether  to  remain  in  his  present  camp, 
or  move  and  camp  elsewhere ;  but  as  he  pondered  he  recalled 
his  incantations,  or  rather  his  dream,  and  that  he  had  un- 
dertaken this  journey  from  no  other  reason  than  to  see 
the  Master  of  Life.  This  led  him  to  believe  that  one  of  the 
roads  was  the  one  he  must  take  to  reach  the  spot  he  desired. 
He  concluded  to  remain  where  he  was  till  the  next  day, 
when  he  would  choose  one  of  the  three  routes  at  random. 
However,  his  curiosity  hardly  allowed  him  time  to  reflect 
upon  it  before  he  abandoned  his  camp  and  set  out  along  the 
road  w^hich  seemed  to  him  the  widest.  He  continued  in  it 
for  half  a  day  without  seeing  anything  to  stop  him,  but, 
pausing  a  little  to  take  breath,  he*saw  suddenly  a  great  fire 
coming  out  of  the  earth.  This  aroused  his  curiosity.  He 
drew  nearer  to  see  what  this  fire  was,  but  the  closer  he 
approached  the  more  the  fire  appeared  to  increase.  This 
frightened  him  and  caused  him  to  retrace  his  steps  and 
take  another  road  which  was  narrower  than  the  first  one. 
After  following  this  road  the  same  length  of  time  as  the 
other  he  beheld  the  same  spectacle,  and  his  fear  which  had 
been  quieted  by  the  change  of  route  was  again  aroused. 
He  was  once  more  obliged  to  turn  about  and  take  the  third 
road  which  he  followed  for  a  day  without  discovering  any- 
thing. Suddenly  he  saw  before  him  what  appeared  to  be  a 
mountain  of  marvellous  whiteness  and  he  stopped,  over- 
come with  astonishment.  Nevertheless,  he  again  advanced, 
firmly  determined  to  see  what  this  mountain  could  be,  but 
when  he  arrived  at  the  foot  of  it  he  no  longer  saw  any 
road  and  was  sad.  At  this  juncture,  not  knowing  what  to 
do  to  continue  his  way,  he  looked  around  in  all  directions 
and   finally   saw   a   woman   of   this  mountain,   of   radiant 


JOURNAL.   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  25 

neantmoins  il  continua  de  travailler  a  sa  retraite  pour  se 
mettre  a  couvert  des  injures  du  temps,  et  fait  du   feux, 
il  cru  Sapperc^evoir  en  faisant  sa  cuisine  que  plus  le  temps 
Sobscurcisait  par  Le  Loignement  du  Soleil  et  plus  les  trois 
chemins  devenoient  clair,  ce  qui  Le  Surpris  jusqu'au  point 
de  L'Effraye,  il  esita  quelque  moment  Sur  ce  qu'il  avait 
affair,   ou  de   rester  a   son  camp   ou  de   S 'eloigner  pour 
camper  plus  Loing,  mais  en  balangant  ainsy  il  se  ressou- 
vint  de  sa  jonglerie  ou  plustot  de  son  reve  et  qu'il  n'avait 
entrepris  ce  voyage  qu'a  dessein  de  voir  Le  maitre  de  La 
vie,  ce  qui  Lui  remit  Les  Sens  dans  la  Croyance  qu'un 
de  ces  trois  chemin,  etait  celuy  qu'il  fallait  prendre  pour 
se  rendre  au  Lieu  ou  il  asspirait,  il  seresoud  de  Reste  ou 
il  etait,  jusque  au  Lendemain,  qu'il  prendrait  une  de  ces 
trois   route   Sans   choisir,    mais    Sa   curiosite   Luy   donna 
apeine   Le  temps  de  prendre   sa  reflection,   il   abondonna 
Son  Camp  et  Sachemine  dans  le  Chemin  qui  luy  paria  le 
plus  Large,   il  y  marcha  jusque  vers  La  motie  du  jour 
Sans  rien  voir  qui  pit  L'arrete,  mais  Se  reposant  un  peu 
pour  prendre  haleine,  il  vit  tout  d'un  Coup  un  grand  feu 
qui   sortait  dessous   terre,   ce  qui  attira   Sa   Curiosite,   en 
S'approchant  de  plus  pres  pour  mieux   Considere  ce  que 
Se  pouvait  etre  que  ce   feu,  et  plus  il  approchait  et  plus 
Le  feu  Luy  paroissait  augmenter,  ce  qui  L'effraya  jusque 
au  point  de  le  faire  retourne  Sur  ses  pas,  pour  prendre  un 
autre  chemin   qui  etait  moins  Large  que  le  premier,  ou 
ayant  marche  dans  le  mesme  espace  de  temps  qu'a  Lautre, 
il  vit  Le  mesme  Spectacle,  ce  qui  reveilla  sa  fayeur  qui 
s'etait  assoupy  par  le  changement  de  route   Et  qu'il   fut 
encore  oblige  de  faire  pour  prendre  Le  troisieme  chemin, 
dans  lequel  il  marche  Lespace  d'une  journee  sans  rien  de 
Couvrir,  tout  d'un  Coup  il  s'offre  a  sa  viae  Comme  une 
montagne  d'une  merveilleuse  Blancheur  qui  le  fit  arreter 
et    le    saisit    d'Etonnement,    neanmoins    Bien    resolue    il 
avance  pour  voir  ce  que  pouvait  etre  que  cette  montagne, 
etant  au  pied  il  ne  vit  plus  de  chemin,  ce  qui  le  rendit  triste 
ne  Sgachant  Comment  faire  pour  continuer  sa  route,  dans 


26  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

beauty,  whose  garments  dimmed  the  whiteness  of  the  snow. 
And  she  was  seated. 

This  woman  addressed  him  in  his  own  tongue:  "Thou 
appearest  to  me  surprised  not  to  find  any  road  to  lead  thee 
where  thou  wishest  to  go.  I  know  that  for  a  long  while 
thou  hast  been  desirous  of  seeing  the  Master  of  Life  and 
of  speaking  with  him;  that  is  why  thou  hast  undertaken 
this  journey  to  see  him.  The  road  which  leads  to  his  abode 
is  over  the  mountain,  and  to  ascend  it  thou  must  forsake 
all  that  thou  hast  with  thee,  and  disrobe  completely,  and 
leave  all  thy  trappings  and  clothing  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain. No  one  shall  harm  thee;  go  and  bathe  thyself  in  a 
river  which  I  shall  show  thee,  and  then  thou  shalt  ascend." 

The  Wolf  was  careful  to  obey  the  words  of  the  woman, 
but  one  difficulty  yet  confronted  him,  namely,  to  know 
how  to  reach  the  top  of  the  mountain  which  was  perpen- 
dicular, pathless,  and  smooth  as  ice.  He  cjuestioned  this 
woman  how  one  should  go  about  climbing  up,  and  she 
replied  that  if  he  was  really  anxious  to  see  the  Master  of 
Life  he  would  have  to  ascend,  helping  himself  only  with 
his  hand  and  his  left  foot.  This  appeared  to  him  impos- 
sible, but  encouraged  by  the  woman  he  set  about  it  and 
succeeded  by  dint  of  effort. 

When  he  reached  the  top  he  was  greatly  astonished  not 
to  see  anyone;  the  woman  had  disappeared,  and  he  found 
himself  alone  without  a  guide.  At  his  right  were  three 
villages  which  confronted  him ;  he  did  not  know  them  for 
they  seemed  of  different  construction  from  his  own,  prettier 
and  more  orderly  in  appearance.  After  he  had  pondered 
some  time  over  what  he  ought  to  do,  he  set  out  toward  the 
village  which  seemed  to  him  the  most  attractive,  and  cov- 
ered half  the  distance  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  before 
he  remembered  that  he  was  naked.  He  was  afraid  to  go 
further,  but  he  heard  a  voice  telling  him  to  continue  and 
that  he  ought  not  to  fear,  because,  having  bathed  as  he 
had,  he  could  go  on  in  assurance.  He  had  no  more  diffi- 
culty in  continuing  up  to  a  spot  which  seemed  to  him  to 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  27 

cette  conjoncture  il  regarde  de  tous  coste,  il  vit  dent  de 
cette  montagne  une  femme  dont  La  beaute  Eblonissait  et 
dont  les  habits  ternissait  La  blancheur  de  la  neige  et  qui 
etait  assise. 

Cette  femme  Luy  dit  dans  sa  Langue  tu  me  parois  Sur- 
pris  de  ne  pas  trouver  de  chemin  qui  te  mene  ou  tu  veux 
alle  Je  Sgay  que  il  y  a  Longtemps  que  tu  as  envie  de  voir 
et  de  parle  au  maitre  de  la  vie,  C'est  pourquoi  tu  as  entre- 
pris  le  voyage  que  pour  Le  voir,  Le  chemin  qui  mene  a 
Sa  demeure  est  sur  cette  montagne,  Et  pour  La  monte  il 
faut  que  tu  quittes  tout  ce  que  tu  as  et  que  tu  te  deszabille 
entierement  et  Laisse  tout  ton  butin  et  tes  hardes  au  pied 
de  la  montagne,  personne  ne  ty  fera  tard,  et  que  tu  aille 
te  Lave  dans  cette  riviere  que  je  te  montre,  et  apres  tu 
monteras.  Le  sauvage  Loup  obeit  a  la  voix  de  cette  femme 
de  point  en  point,  mais  il  Lui  restait  une  difficulte  a 
vaincre,  c'etait  de  sgavoir.  Comment  parvenir  au  haut  de 
cette  montagne  qui  etait  droite,  sans  sentier  et  unis  comme 
une  glace,  il  questionna  cette  femme  Sur  La  fagon  de  s'y 
prendre  pour  monter,  il  lui  fut  repondfi  que  S'il  avait 
vraiment  envie  de  voir  Le  maitre  de  la  vie  qu'il  faloit 
Lamonte  et  ne  s'aide  que  de  sa  main  et  de  son  pied  gauche, 
ce  qui  parii  comme  impossible  au  Loup,  qui  cependant  en- 
courage de  cette  femme  Se  mit  en  devoir  de  la  monte  Et 
y  parvint  avec  bien  de  la  peine,  quand  il  fut  en  haut  il  fut 
Bien  etonne  de  ne  plus  voir  personne,  Cette  femme  etait 
dispariae,  il  se  vit  Seul  sans  guide,  au  droit  de  trois  villages 
qui  Luy  faisait  face  Et  qu'il  ne  connaissait  pas  qui  Luy 
semblais  autrement  Construit  que  le  Sien,  plus  Beau  et 
dans  un  plus  Bel  ordre,  apres  avoir  reve  quelque  temps  a 
ce  qu'il  devait  faire  il  s'avance  vers  celuy  qui  avait  a  sa 
vue  Le  plus  d'apparence,  ayant  bien  fait  la  motie  du  chemin 
depuis  Lehaut  de  la  montagne,  il  se  ressouvint  qui  etait 
nud,  il  eut  crainte  d'avancer  davantage,  mais  une  voix 
qu'il  entendit  Luy  ayant  dis  de  continuer  qu'il  ne  devait 
point  Craindre  que  s'etant  Lave  comme  il  avait  fait  il 
pouvait   marche  en  assurance   et   ne   fit   plus   de  difficulte 


28  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF    A    CONSPIRACY 

be  the  gate  of  the  village,  and  here  he  stopped,  waiting  for 
it  to  open  so  he  could  enter.  While  he  was  observing  the 
outward  beauty  of  this  village  the  gate  opened,  and  he  saw 
coming  toward  him  a  handsome  man,  clothed  all  in  white, 
who  took  him  by  the  hand  and  told  him  that  he  was  going 
to  satisfy  him  and  let  him  talk  with  the  Master  of  Life. 
The  Wolf  permitted  the  man  to  conduct  him,  and  both 
came  to  a  place  of  surpassing  beauty  which  the  Indian  could 
not  admire  enough.  Here  he  saw  the  Master  of  Life  who 
took  him  by  the  hand  and  gave  him  a  hat  all  bordered 
with  gold  to  sit  down  upon.  The  Wolf  hesitated  to  do  this 
for  fear  of  spoiling  the  hat,  but  he  was  ordered  to  do  so, 
and  obeyed  without  reply. 

After  the  Indian  was  seated  the  Lord  said  to  him :  "I 
am  the  Master  of  Life,  and  since  I  know  what  thou  de- 
sirest  to  know,  and  to  whom  thou  wishest  to  speak,  listen 
well  to  what  I  am  going  to  say  to  thee  and  to  all  the 
Indians : 

*T  am  He  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
the  trees,  lakes,  rivers,  all  men,  and  all  that  thou  seest  and 
hast  seen  upon  the  earth.  Because  I  love  you,  ye  must  do 
what  I  say  and  love,  and  not  do  what  I  hate.  I  do  not  love 
that  ye  should  drink  to  the  point  of  madness,  as  ye  do ;  and 
I  do  not  like  that  ye  should  fight  one  another.  Ye  take  two 
wives,  or  run  after  the  wives  of  others ;  ye  do  not  well,  and 
I  hate  that.  Ye  ought  to  have  but  one  wife,  and  keep  her 
till  death.  When  ye  wish  to  go  to  war,  ye  conjure  and 
resort  to  the  medicine  dance,  believing  that  ye  speak  to  me ; 
ye  are  mistaken, — it  is  to  Manitou  that  ye  speak,  an  evil 
spirit  who  prompts  you  to  nothing  but  wrong,  and  who 
listens  to  you  out  of  ignorance  of  me. 

"This  land  where  ye  dwell  I  have  made  for  you  and 
not  for  others.  Whence  comes  it  that  ye  permit  the  Whites 
upon  your  lands?  Can  ye  not  live  without  them?  I  know 
that  those  whom  ye  call  the  children  of  your  Great  Father 
supply  your  needs,  but  if  ye  were  not  evil,  as  ye  are,  ye 
could  surely  do  without  them.    Ye  could  Hvt  as  ye  did  live 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  29 

d'alle  jusque  a  une  endroit  qui  Luy  semblait  estre  La  porte 
de  ce  village  et  S'arrete  pour  attendre  quel  s'ouvrit  pour 
entrer,  pendant  qu'il  examinait  Labeaute  du  dehors  de  ce 
village,  Laporte,  s'ouvrit,  il  vit  venir  a  luy  un  bel  homme 
vestu  tout  en  blanc  qui  Le  prit  par  la  main  Luy  Disant 
qu'il  allait  le  contenter  Lui  faisant  parle  au  maitre  de  la 
vie.  Le  Loup  se  Laissa  conduire  et  il  arriverent  tous  deux 
dans  un  endroit  dont  La  beaute  n'avait  rien  d'egal  et  que 
le  Sauvage  ne  pouvait  Lasse  d'admire,  ou  il  vit  Le  maitre 
de  la  vie  qui  Le  prit  par  la  main  lui  donna  un  chapeau 
tous  Borde  en  Or  pour  Sassoir  dessus  Le  Loup,  hesita  de 
le  faire  par  La  crainte  qu'il  avait  de  gater  Le  chapeau, 
mais  il  Luy  fut  ordonne  de  le  faire,  il  obeis  sans  replique. 

Le  Sauvage  s'etant  assis  Le  Bon  Dieu  Luy  dit  Jesuis 
Lemaitre  de  la  vie  come  Je  Scay  que  tu  desir  de  Con- 
noitre  et  a  qui  tu  veux  parle,  Ecoute  Bien  ce  que  Je  te  vais 
dire  pour  toy  et  pour  tous  Les  Sauvages,  Jesuis  celuy  qui 
a  fais  Le  ciel,  La  terre,  Les  arbres,  Les  lacs,  Les  rivieres, 
tous  les  hommes  et  toute  ce  que  tu  vois,  et  tout  ce  que  tu  a 
vtie  Sur  la  terre,  parceque  j'ai  fait  cecy  et  parce — que  je 
vous  aime,  il  faut  faire  ce  que  je  dis  et  ce  que  j'aime  Et 
ne  pas  faire  ce  que  je  hais.  Je  n'aime  point  que  vous 
buviez  jusqu'a  perdre  La  raison  Comme  vous  faiste,  et 
quand  vous  vous  battez  Je  ne  veux  pas  cela,  vous  prenez 
deux  femmes  ou  Bien  vous  courez  Les  femmes  des  autres 
vous  ne  faistes  pas  Bien  Je  hais  cela,  vous  ne  devez  avoir 
qu'une  femme  et  Lagarde  jusque  a  la  mort,  quand  vous 
voulez  allez  en  geure  vous  jonglez,  vous  chantez  La  medicine 
croyant  me  parle,  vous  vous  trompe  C'est  au  Manietout  a 
qui  vous  parle  C'est  un  mauvais  Esprit  qui  ne  vous  souffle 
que  du  mal  et  qui  vous  ecoute  faute  de  me  Bien  connaitre. 

Cette  terre  ou  vous  este  Je  lay  fais  pour  vous,  Et  non 
pas  pour  d'autres  d'ou  vient  que  vous  souffrez  Les  Blancs 
Sur  vos  terres,  Est  ce  que  vous  ne  pouvez  pas  vous  passer 
deux.  Je  say  que  Ceux  que  vous  appelez  Les  en  fans  de 
votre  grand  pere,  vous  apporte  vos  besoins,  mais  Sy  vous 
n'etiez  pas  mauvais  Comme  vous  L'este  vous  vous  pas- 


30  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

before  knowing  them, — before  those  whom  ye  call  your 
brothers  had  come  upon  your  lands.  Did  ye  not  live  by 
the  bow  and  arrow?  Ye  had  no  need  of  gun  or  powder, 
or  anything  else,  and  nevertheless  ye  caught  animals  to 
live  upon  and  to  dress  yourselves  with  their  skins.  But 
when  I  saw  that  ye  wxre  given  up  to  evil,  I  led  the  wild 
animals  to  the  depths  of  the  forests  so  that  ye  had  to 
depend  upon  your  brothers  to  feed  and  shelter  you.  Ye 
have  only  to  become  good  again  and  do  what  I  wish,  and 
I  will  send  back  the  animals  for  your  food.  I  do  not 
forbid  you  to  permit  among  you  the  children  of  your 
Father;  I  love  them.  They  know  me  and  pray  to  me,  and 
I  supply  their  wants  and  all  they  give  you.  But  as  to 
those  who  come  to  trouble  your  lands, — drive  them  out, 
make  war  upon  them.  I  do  not  love  them  at  all;  they 
know  me  not,  and  are  my  enemies,  and  the  enemies  of  your 
brothers.  Send  them  back  to  the  lands  which  I  have  cre- 
ated for  them  and  let  them  stay  there.  Here  is  a  prayer 
which  I  give  thee  in  writing  to  learn  by  heart  and  to  teach 
to  the  Indians  and  their  children." 

The  Wolf  replied  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  read. 
He  was  told  that  when  he  should  have  returned  to  earth 
he  would  have  only  to  give  the  prayer  to  the  chief  of  his 
village  who  would  read  it  and  teach  him  and  all  the  Indians 
to  know  it  by  heart ;  and  he  must  say  it  night  and  morning 
without  fail,  and  do  what  he  has  just  been  told  to  do;  and 
he  was  to  tell  all  the  Indians  for  and  in  the  name  of  the 
Master  of  Life: 

"Do  not  drink  more  than  once,  or  at  most  twice  in  a 
day;  have  only  one  wife  and  do  not  run  after  the  wives 
of  others  nor  after  the  girls;  do  not  fight  among  your- 
selves; do  not  'make  medicine,'  but  pray,  because  in  'mak- 
ing medicine'  one  talks  with  the  evil  spirit;  drive  off  your 
lands  those  dogs  clothed  in  red  who  will  do  you  nothing 
but  harm.  And  when  ye  shall  have  need  of  anything 
address  yourselves  to  me ;  and  as  to  your  brothers,  I  shall 
give  to  you  as  to  them ;  do  not  sell  to  your  brothers  what  I 


JOURNAL.  OU   DICTATION    DUNE    CONSPIRATION  31 

seriez  Bien  deux,  vous  pouriez  vivre  tout  comme  aupara- 
vant  que  de  les  Connoitre.  Avant  que  ceux  que  vous  ap- 
Dellez  vos  freres  fusent  vend  Sur  vos  terres,  ne  viviez  vous 
pas  a  Larc  et  a  Lafleche?  Vous  n'aviez  pas  besoin  de  fu- 
Sil  ny  de  poudre  et  ainsy  du  Reste  et  cependant  vous 
attrapiez  des  animeaux  pour  vivre  et  pour  vous  habille 
avec  Leurs  peaux,  mais  quand  Jay  vue  que  vous  vous 
donniez  au  mal.  Ja}'-  retire  dans  les  profondeurs  des  bois 
les  animeaux,  pourque  vous  eussiez  Besoin  de  vos  freres, 
pour  avoir  votre  necessaire,  pour  vous  Couvrir,  vous  n'avez 
qu'a  venir  Bon,  et  faire  ce  que  Je  veux,  Je  vous  renvogerez 
les  animaux  pour  vivre.  Je  ne  vous  deffend  pas  cela  de 
Souffrir  parmis  vous  Les  enfants  de  votre  pere,  Je  les 
aime,  ils  me  connaissent  et  ils  me  prient  et  Je  leur  donne 
Leurs  Besoins  et  tous  ce  qu'ils  vous  apporte,  mais  pour 
Ceux  qui  sont  venus  trouble  vos  terres  chasse  Les,  faites 
Leurs  La  geure,  Je  ne  les  aime  point  ils  ne  me  connaissent 
pas  et  sont  mes  ennemis  et  les  ennemis  de  vos  freres, 
renvoye  Les  Sur  Les  terres  que  Jay  fait  pour  eux  Et  qu'ils 
y  restent. 

Voila  une  priere  que  Je  te  donne  par  ecrit  pour  ap- 
prendre  par  cceur  et  pour  L'apprendre  aux  Sauvages  et 
aux  enfans.  Le  Loup  fit  reponse  qu'il  ne  scavait  pas  Lire, 
il  Luy  fut  repondii  que  quand  il  Serait  revenue  Sur  terre, 
il  n'aurait  qu'a  La  donner  au  chef  de  son  village  qui  La 
Lirait  et  La  Lui  apprenderoit  par  Cceur  et  a  tous  Les 
sauvages  et  qu'il  fallait  La  dire  Soir  et  Matin.  Sans 
manquer  et  de  faire  ce  qui  venait  de  Luy  dire  et  de  le  dire 
a  tous  Les  sauvages  de  la  part  et  au  nom  du  maitre  de  la 
vie,  de  ne  point  Boire  qu'un  Coup,  ou  deux  tout  au  plus 
par  jour,  de  n'avoir  qu'une  femme,  Et  de  ne  point  Courir 
apres  les  femme  des  autres  ny  apres  Les  filles,  de  ne  point 
se  Battre  entre  eux,  de  ne  point  faire  La  medecine,  mais 
Lapriere,  parce  que  en  faisant  La  medecine  ont  parle  au 
Mauvais  Esprit,  de  Chasser  de  dessus  Leurs  terres  Ces 
chiens  habille  de  rouge  qui  ne  vous  ferons  que  du  mal.  Et 
quand  vous,  vous  aurez  besoin  de  quelque  chose  addresse 


32  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

have  put  on  earth  for  food.  In  short,  become  good  and 
ye  shall  receive  your  needs.  When  ye  meet  one  another 
exchange  greeting  and  proffer  the  left  hand  which  is  near- 
est the  heart. 

"In  all  things  I  command  thee  to  repeat  every  morning 
and  night  the  prayer  which  I  have  given  thee." 

The  Wolf  promised  to  do  faithfully  what  the  Master  of 
Life  told  him,  and  that  he  would  recommend  it  well  to  the 
Indians,  and  that  the  Master  of  Life  would  be  pleased  with 
them.  Then  the  same  man  who  had  led  him  by  the  hand 
came  to  get  him  and  conducted  him  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  where  he  told  him  to  take  his  outfit  again  and 
return  to  his  village.  The  Wolf  did  this,  and  upon  his 
arrival  the  members  of  his  tribe  and  village  were  greatly 
surprised,  for  they  did  not  know  what  had  become  of  him, 
and  they  asked  where  he  had  been.  A?  he  was  enjoined 
not  to  speak  to  anybody  before  he  had  talked  with  the 
chief  of  his  village,  he  made  a  sign  with  his  hand  that  he 
had  come  from  on  high.  Upon  entering  the  village  he 
went  straight  to  the  cabin  of  the  chief  to  whom  he  gave 
what  had  been  given  to  him, — namely,  the  prayer  and  the 
law  which  the  Master  of  Life  had  given  him. 

This  adventure  was  soon  noised  about  among  the  people 
of  the  whole  village  who  camic  to  hear  the  message  of  the 
Master  of  Life,  and  then  went  to  carry  it  to  the  neighbor- 
ing villages.  The  members  of  these  villages  came  to  see  the 
pretended  traveller,  and  the  news  was  spread  from  vil- 
lage to  village  and  finally  reached  Pontiac.  He  believed  all 
this,  as  we  believe  an  article  of  faith,  and  instilled  it  into 
the  minds  of  all  those  in  his  council.  They  listened  to 
him  as  to  an  oracle,  and  told  him  that  he  had  only  to  speak 
and  they  were  all  ready  to  do  what  he  demanded  of  them 

Pontiac,  delighted  at  the  success  of  his  harangue,  told 
the  Hurons  and  Pottawattamies  to  return  to  their  villages, 
and  that  in  four  days  he  would  go  to  the  Fort  with  his 
young  men  for  the  peace-pipe  dance,  and  that  while  the 
dancers  were  engaged  some  other  young  men  would  roam 


JOURNAL.  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  33 

vous  a  moi  &  comme  vos  freres  Je  voiis  Donnerez  comme 
a  enx,  ne  point  vendre  a  vos  freres  ce  que  jay  mis  sur 
terre  pour  la  nourriture,  bref  devenez  bon  et  vous  recevrez 
de  rien  vos  Besoins,  quand  vous  vous  rencontre  les  Uns  et 
les  autres  de  vous  Saluer  et  de  ne  vous  donner  que  la  main 
gauche  qui  est  La  Main  du  Coeur,  Sur  toutes  choses  Je  te 
Commande  de  faire  tous  Les  Jours  matin  et  soir  la  priere 
que  Je  te  donne  Le  Loup  promit  de  Bien  faire  ce  que  Le 
maitre  de  la  vie  Lui  disait  et  qu'il  Le  recommanderais  Bien 
Aux  Sauvages  et  que  Le  maitre  de  la  vie  Serait  Content 
deux,  Ensuite  Le  mesme  homme  qui  L'avait  amene  par 
la  main.  Le  vint  reprendre  et  Le  conduisit  jusque  au  pieds 
de  Lamontagne  ou  il  Luy  dit  de  reprendre  tout  son  Butin 
et  de  s'en  retourne  a  son  village  Ce  que  Le  Sauvage  Loup 
executa,  ou  etant  arrive  il  surpris  Bien  Ceux  de  sa  nation 
et  de  son  village  qui  ne  Scavoient  pas  ce  qu'il  etait  devenias, 
et  qu'il  Luy  demander  d'ou  il  venait  Comme  il  lui  etait 
enjoint  de  ne  parle  a  personne  qu'il  n'eut  parle  a  son  chef 
de  village,  il  se  contenta  de  leur  faire  signe  avec  La  main 
qu'il  venait  d'en  haut,  en  entrant  dans  son  village  il  fut 
droit  a  la  cabane  du  chef  a  qu'il  il  donna  ce  qui  Luy  avait 
ete  donne.  La  priere  et  La  Loix  que  Le  maitre  de  la  vie 
Luy  avait  donne. 

Cette  aventure  fut  Bientot  ebritte  dans  tout  le  village 
qui  vinrent  pour  entendre  La  parole  du  maitre  de  la  vie, 
et  qui  furent  La  porte  a  d'autre  village  Circonvoisin  qui 
vinrent  pour  voir  Le  pretendia  voyageur  et  firent  Courir 
cette  nouvelle  de  village  en  village  et  parvint  jusque  a 
pondiak  qui  croyant  cela  comme  nous,  nous  Croyons  un 
article  de  foi,  L'insinua  dans  L'esprit  de  tous  ceux  de  Son 
Conseil,  qui  L'ecouterent  Comme  un  oracle  et  Luy  dirent 
qu'il  n'avait  qu'a  parle  qu'ils  etaient  tous  prest  a  faire  ce 
qu'il  exigeoit  d'eux. 

Pondiak  charme  du  succes  de  son  harangue  dits  aux 
hurons  et  aux  poux  de  sen  retourne  a  leurs  village  que 
dans  quatre  jours  il  irait  au  fort  avec  les  jeunes  gens  de 
son  village  pour  danser  Le  Calumet,  et  que  pendant  que 


34  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

around  in  the  Fort  to  spy  out  all  that  was  being  done,  the 
number  of  men  the  English  had  in  the  garrison,  the  num- 
ber of  traders,  and  the  houses  they  occupied.  All  of  this 
happened  as  he  had  said. 

The  first  Sunday,  or  rather  Sunday,  the  first  day  of 
May,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  French 
v/ere  coming  out  of  vespers,  Pontiac  came  with  forty  men 
that  he  had  chosen  and  presented  himself  at  the  entrance 
gate.  But  the  Commandant,  who  had  got  wind  of  something 
in  the  conduct  of  the  Indians,  had  ordered  the  sentinels  not 
to  let  any  come  in.  This  surprised  Pontiac.  Seeing  that 
they  refused  admission  to  him  and  his  whole  band  who 
expected  to  enter  as  usual,  they  sent  for  Mr.  LaButte^, 
their  interpreter,  to  say  in  their  behalf  to  the  Commandant 
that  they  had  come  to  amuse  him  and  dance  the  peace-pipe 
dance.  At  the  request  of  Mr.  La  Butte  they  received  per- 
mission. They  took  up  their  position  to  the  number  of 
thirty  before  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Campbell^  lived,  the 
second  in  com.mand,  and  began  to  dance  and  beat  a  post, 
and  relate  their  warlike  exploits.  And  from  time  to  time 
they  leaped  about  the  commander-in-chief  and  the  accom- 
panying officers  who  were  watching  the  Indians  perform, 
saying  to  them  in  defiance  that  they  had  beaten  the  Eng- 
lish at  various  times  and  would  do  so  again. 

After  they  had  finished  talking  they  demanded  bread, 
tobacco,  and  beer,  which  were  given  to  them.  They  re- 
mained long  enough  so  that  the  ten  others  who  had  the 
word  could  note  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  Fort.  And 
nobody,  English  or  French,  mistrusted  them,  since  it  is 
frequently  their  custom  to  roam  around  anywhere  unhin- 
dered. After  these  ten  had  made  the  round  of  the  Fort 
and  closely  examined  everything,  they  came  back  to  join 
the  dancers,   and  all,   as   if  nothing  had  happened,   went 

^Pierre  Chesne  dit  La  Butte,  interpreter  and  merchant  at  Detroit,  was  one  of 
the  old  and  preatly  respected  men  of  the  post.  He  was  son  of  Pierre  Chesne 
and  Jeanne  Baillin  of  the  parish  of  Point  aux  Trembles,  Quebec,  and  was  born 
in  1G98.  When  he  was  thirty  years  old  he  married,  at  the  Miami  post,  Marie 
Madeline,  daughter  of  Pierre  Roy.  by  whom  he  had  one  Son.  His  wife  died  in 
1732  and  he  married  Louise  Barrois.  He  lived  in  the  village  on  St.  Anne  street 
and   died    May    13,    1774.      St.  Anne  Church   Records,   Detroit. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  35 

Les  danceurs  feraient  Leurs  devoir,  d'autre  jeunes  gens 
roderoient  dans  Le  fort  pour  Bien  examine  tout  ce  qui  Se 
passeroient.  Le  nombre  de  monde  que  les  anglais  pouvait 
avoir  en  garnison  La  quantite  de  commergant  et  les  maisons 
qu'il  occupoient,  ce  qui  arriva  comme  il  Lavait  dit. 

Le  premier,  Dimanche,  ou  plustot  le  Dimanche,  premier 
jour  du  mois  de  May  Sur  Les  trois  heures  apres  midy 
comme  Les  frangais  sortoient  de  vepres,  pondiak  avec 
quarante  hommes  qu'il  avait  choisi  vinrent  se  presente  aux 
portes  pour  entre,  mais  Mr.  Lecommandant  qui  avait  eii 
vent  de  quelque  chose  de  la  conduite  des  sauvages  avait 
ordonne  que  les  sentinels  ne  Laissassent  entre  aucun 
Sauvages,  ce  qui  surpris  pondiak  voyant  que  L'on  Luy 
refusait  La  porte  Luy  et  toute  sa  bande  qui  croyoient 
entre  comme  a  son  ordinaire,  il  firent  venir  Mr.  La  Butte 
leurs  interprette  pour  dire  de  leur  parts  au  Commandant 
qu'il  venait  pour  le  divertir  et  danser  Le  Calumet,  ce  qui 
Leurs  fut  accorde  a  la  demande  de  Mr.  La  Butte  et  se 
placerent  a  nombre  de  trente  devant  La  maison  ou  Logeait 
Mr.  Cambel  commaiidant  en  second  et  semirent  en  devoir 
de  danse  et  frape  au  poteau  et  mettant  en  Lumiere  leurs 
exploits  guerrier,  et  de  temps  en  temps  ils  donnoient  des 
ganbades  aux  ler  Commandant  et  aux  officiers  qui  les 
accompagnoient  ct  qui  regardoient  faire  Les  Sauvages,  qui 
leurs  disoient  pour  Les  Brave  qu'ils  avoient  frape  Les 
anglais  en  plusieurs  fois  differentes  et  qui'ils  y  fraperoient 
encore  et  finissant  Leurs  discours,  ils  demanderent  du  pain, 
du  tabac  et  de  la  biere,  ce  qui  Leur  fut  donne,  ils  resterent 
assez  de  temps  pour  que  Les  dix  autres  qui  avoient  Le  mot 
puissent  examine  tons  ce  qui  se  passaient  dans  Le  fort. 
Et  personne  ni  anglais,  ni  francais  ne  se  mefiaient  deux 
parce  que  c'est  souvent  Leur  coutume  de  rode  par  tons 
sans  que  Lon  Leur  en  empeche,  Ceux  cy  apres  avoir  fait 


°Capt.  Donald  Campbell  was  a  Scotch  officer  v.ho  came  to  America  with  the 
62nd  Regt.  in  1756  and  was  made  captain  of  the  Royal  Americans  in  1759.  _  He 
came  to  Detroit  in  1760  and  remained  in  command  until  Maj.  Gladwin  arrived, 
when  he  was  retained  second  in  command.  He  was  cruelly  murdered  by  the 
Indians    on    July   4,    1763,    as    is    recounted   in   this    narrative. 


36  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

away  to  their  village^"  which  was  located  a  little  distance 
above  the  Fort  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  in  the  direc- 
tion of  east  northeast,  where,  according  to  the  orders  of 
Pontiac,  the  Ottawa  chief,  all  the  Indians  had  encamped 
the  previous  Friday. 

After  their  return  to  the  village  all  the  spies  reported 
point  by  point  to  their  chiefs  what  they  had  seen :  the 
movements  of  the  English,  and  the  approximate  number  of 
the  garrison.  Following  this  report  Pontiac^  ^  sent  his 
messengers  to  the  Hurons  and  the  Pottawattamies  to  in- 
form them  by  means  of  wampum  belts  of  what  had  hap- 
pened at  the  fort.  Mackatepelecite,  the  second  chief  of 
the  Ottawas,  and  another  Indian  highly  regarded  among 
them,  were  despatched  to  Takay,  the  chief  of  the  bad 
Huron  band,  who  received  them  with  enthusiasm  and  prom- 
ised that  he  and  his  village  were  ready  to  obey  the  first 
demand  of  their  great  chief. 

Pontiac,  wholly  occupied  with  his  project  and  nourish- 
ing in  his  heart  a  poison  which  was  to  be  fateful  for  the 
English,  and  perhaps  for  the  French,  sent  runners  the  fol- 
lowing day,  Monday,  the  2nd  of  May,  to  each  of  the  Huron 
and  Pottawattamy  villages  to  discover  the  real  feeling  of 
each  of  these  two  nations,  for  he  feared  to  be  crossed  in 
his  plans.  These  emissaries  had  orders  to  notify  these 
nations  for  him  that  Thursday,  the  5th  of  May,  at  mid-day, 
a  grand  council  would  be  held  in  the  Pottawattamy  village 
which  was  situated  between  two  and  three  miles  below  the 
Fort  toward  the  southwest,  and  that  the  three  nations 
should  meet  there  and  that  no  woman  should  be  allowed  to 
attend  for  fear  of  betraying  their  plans. 

When  the  appointed  day  had  come  all  the  Ottawas  with 
Pontiac  at  their  head,  and  the  bad  band  of  the  Hurons  in 


'"Pontiac's  village  is  on  the  maps  of  that  day,  opposite  the  central  part  of  the 
Isle  au  Cochon,  where  the   present  town  of  Walkerville  is  located. 

^'Although  Pontiac  was  chief  actor  in  the  siege  he  was  aided  by  several  Chip- 
pewa r.nd  Indian  warriors  and  chiefs — Mahigam.  the  Wolf;  Wabanamy,  the  White 
Sturgeon;  Kittacoinsi,  he  that  climbs;  Agouchiois,  a  friend  to  the  French,  of  the 
Ottawas;  and  Gayashque,  Wasson,  Macataywasson,  Pashquior,  Chippewa  chiefs. 
Lanman's  History   of  Michigan,   p.   loy. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  37 

Leur  ronde  dans  le  fort  et  tous  bien  examine,  revinrent 
trouve  Les  danceurs,  qui  tous  ensemble  faisant  mine  de  rien, 
s'en  allerent  a  leur  villages  qui  etait  situe  un  peu  audessus 
du  fort  de  I'autre  Coste  de  la  riviere,  tirant  Sur  Test,  nord 
est,  ou  Suivant  Les  ordres  de  pondiak,  chef  des  Outasois, 
tous  Les  Sauvages  S'etaient  venus  mettre  Le  vendredy 
auparavant. 

De  retour  au  village  tous  Les  espions  rapporterent  a 
leurs  chefs  de  point  en  point  ce  qu'ils  avaient  via  Le  mouve- 
ment  des  anglais  et  La  quantite  a  peu  pres  de  troupe 
qu'ils  avaient  de  garnison,  Sur  ce  rapport  pondiak  envoya 
des  deputes  aux  hurons  et  aux  poux  pour  leur  donner  avis 
par  des  colliers  de  ce  qui  se  passoient  au  fort. 

Mackotepelicite,  second  chef  outasois  et  un  autre  Sauv- 
age  considere  parmis  eux  furent  depeche  a  take,  chef  de 
la  mauvaise  Bande  des  hurons  qui  regiirent  Les  Colliers 
et  Les  deputees  avec  Joye,  deux  autres  considere  furent 
envoye  vers  ninivois,  chef  des  poux  qui  les  regue  avec 
acclamation  Et  promis  que  Luy  et  son  village  Etoient  pres 
a  la  premiere  demande  de  leurs  grand  chefs. 

Pondiak  toujours  occupe  de  son  projet  et  qui  nourissait 
dans  son  Sain  un  poison  qui  devait  estre  funeste  aux 
anglais  et  peut  estre  au  frangais  envoya  le  Landemain, 

Lundy  2ed  de  May,  des  emissaires  dans  chaque  village, 
huron  et  poux  pour  examiner  Linterieur  de  chaquune  de 
ses  deux  nations,  car  il  craignait  des  traverse  dans  ses 
desseins,  Ses  emissaires  avoient  ordres  de  dire  de  sa  part 
aux  nations  que  Jeudi  le. 

Cinquieme  de  May,  a  mis  Soleil  il  serait  tenus  un  grand 
conseil  dans  le  village  des  poux  qui  etait  situe  a  une  demie 
Lieux  aud  essous  du  fort  au  Sorouest,  et  qu'il  falait  que 
les  trois  nations  s'y  rendissent  et  qu'il  ne  fallait  pas  que 
aucune  femme  S'y  trouva  peur  d'estre  decouvert. 

Le  jour  assigne  etant  venus  tous  Les  outavois,  pondiak 
a  Leurs  testes.   La  mauvaise  bande  des   Hurons,   take  a 


38  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

charge  of  Takay,  repaired  to  the  Pottawattamy  village 
where  the  expected  council  was  to  be  held.  Care  had  been 
taken  to  send  the  women  out  of  the  village  so  that  they 
might  not  hear  anything  of  what  should  be  decided.  Pon- 
tiac  ordered  sentinels  to  be  placed  around  the  village  in 
order  not  to  be  disturbed  in  their  council.  When  all  these 
precautions  had  been  taken  each  Indian  seated  himself  in 
the  circle  according  to  rank,  and  Pontiac  at  the  head,  as 
great  chief  of  all,  began  to  speak.     He  said: 

"It  is  important  for  us,  my  brothers,  that  we  exterminate 
from  our  lands  this  nation  which  seeks  only  to  destroy  us. 
You  see  as  well  as  I  that  we  can  no  longer  supply  our  needs, 
as  we  have  done,  from  our  brothers,  the  French.  The 
English  sell  us  goods  twice  as  dear  as  the  French  do,  and 
their  goods  do  not  last.  Scarcely  have  we  bought  a  blanket 
or  something  else  to  cover  ourselves  with  before  we  must 
think  of  getting  another;  and  when  we  wish  to  set  out  for 
our  winter  camps  they  do  not  want  to  give  us  any  credit 
as  our  brothers,  the  French,  do. 

"When  I  go  to  see  the  English  commander  and  say  to 
him  that  some  of  our  comrades  are  dead,  instead  of  bewail- 
ing their  death,  as  our  French  brothers  do,  he  laughs  at 
me  and  at  you.  If  I  ask  anything  for  our  sick,  he  refuses 
with  the  reply  that  he  has  no  use  for  us.  From  all  this 
you  can  well  see  that  they  are  seeking  our  ruin.  There- 
fore, my  brothers,  we  must  all  swear  their  destruction  and 
wait  no  longer.  Nothing  prevents  us;  they  are  few  in 
numbers,  and  we  can  accomplish  it.  All  the  nations  who 
are  our  brothers  attack  them, — why  should  we  not  attack? 
Are  we  not  men  like  them?  Have  I  not  shown  you  the 
wampum  belts  which  I  received  from  our  Great  Father, 
the  Frenchman?  He  tells  us  to  strike  them, — why  do  we 
not  listen  to  his  words?  What  do  we  fear?  It  is  time. 
Do  we  fear  that  our  brothers,  the  French,  who  are  here 
among  us  will  prevent  us?  They  do  not  know  our  plans, 
and  they  could  not  hinder  anyway,  if  they  would.  You  all 
know  as  well  as  I  that  when  the  English  came  upon  our 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  39 

leurs  testes,  tous  se  rendirent  au  village  des  poux  ou  le 
Conseil  premidite  devoit  se  tenir  ont  eut  soin  de  renvoye 
Les  femmes  hors  du  village  pour  qu'elles  n'entendirent 
rien  de  tout  ce  qui  serait  decide.  Pondiak  ordonne  qu'il 
fut  mis  des  sentinelles  autour  du  villages  pour  n'estre  point 
interompus  dans  Leurs  Conseil,  toutes  ces  precautions 
prises,  chaque  Sauvage  prend  sa  place  en  forme  de  cercle 
chaqu'un  suivant  son  rang,  et  pondiak  a  la  teste  comme 
grand  chef  de  tous,  pris  la  parole  comme  chef  de  la  ligue. 
Leurs  dits. 

II  est  important  pour  nous,  mes  freres  que  nous  ex- 
terminions  de  dessus  nos  terres  cette  nation  qui  ne  cherche 
que  a  nous  faire  mourir,  vous  voyez  tous  aussi  bien  que 
moy  que  nous  ne  pouvons  plus  avoir  nos  besoins  comme 
nous  les  avions  axec  nos  freres  les  francois,  Les  anglais 
nous  vendent  Les  merchandises  deux  fois  plus  que  les  fran- 
^ais  nous  les  vendaient  et  leurs  merchandises  ne  durent  rien, 
a  peine  avons  nous  achete,  une  couverte  ou  autre  chose  pour 
nous  couvrir  qu'il  faut  penser  a  en  avoir  d'autre,  quand  nous 
voulons  partir  pour  aller  a  nos  hivernements,  ils  ne  veulent 
point  nous  faire  de  credit,  comme  faisaient  nos  freres  Les 
frangois,  quand  Je  vas  voir  le  chef  anglais  que  je  luy  dit 
qu'il  nous  est  mort  de  nos  Camarades,  au  lieu  de  pleure 
Leur  mort  comme  faisaient  nos  freres  Les  francais  il  se 
moque  de  moy  et  de  vous.  Si  je  luy  demande  quelque  chose 
pour  nos  malades,  il  me  refuse  et  me  dit  qu'il  n'a  pas 
besoin  de  nous,  vous  pouvez  bien  voir  par  La  qu'il  cherche 
notre  perte,  et  Bien  mes  freres  il  faut  Jure  tous  ensemble 
La  Leur  et  ne  pas  attendre  plus  Longtemps,  rien  ne  nous 
en  empeche,  il  sont  tres  peu  de  monde,  nous  en  viendrons 
Bien  about,  toutes  les  nations  qui  sont  nos  freres  frape  Sur 
eux,  pourquoy  ny  fraperions  nous  pas  ne  sommes  nous 
pas  des  hommes  comme  eux,  ne  vous  ai  je  pas  fait  voir 
Les  colliers  que  Jay  recue  de  notre  grand  pere  le  francois 
il  nous  dit  de  frape  pourquoy  ne  pas  ecoute  Ses  paroles, 
que  craignons  nous,  il  est  temps,  Craignons  nous  que  nos 
freres  les  franqais  qui  sont  ici,  parmis  nous  nous  en  em- 


40  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

lands  to  drive  out  our  Father,  Belestre^^,  they  took  away 
all  the  Frenchmen's  guns  and  that  they  now  have  no  arms 
to  protect  themselves  with.  Therefore,  it  is  time  for  us 
to  strike.  If  there  are  any  French  who  side  with  them, 
let  us  strike  them  as  well  as  the  English.  Remember  what 
the  Master  of  Life  told  our  brother,  the  Wolf,  to  do.  That 
concerns  us  all  as  well  as  others.  I  have  sent  wampum 
belts  and  messengers  to  our  brothers,  the  Chippewas  of 
Saginaw,  and  to  our  brothers,  the  Ottawas  of  Michillimack- 
inac,  and  to  those  of  the  Thames  River  to  join  us.  They 
will  not  be  slow  in  coming,  but  while  we  wait  let  us  strike 
anyway.  There  is  no  more  time  to  lose.  When  the  Eng- 
lish are  defeated  we  shall  then  see  what  there  is  left  to  do, 
and  we  shall  stop  up  the  ways  hither  so  that  they  may 
never  come  again  upon  our  lands." 

The  speech,  which  Pontiac  delivered  in,'  such  an  energetic 
tone,  produced  its  desired  effect  upon  the  members  of  the 
council,  and  they  all  swore  with  one  accord  the  complete 
destruction  of  the  English.  It  was  decided  before  the 
council  closed  that  Pontiac  at  the  head  of  sixty  chosen  men 
should  go  to  the  Fort  to  ask  the  English  commander  for  a 
grand  council,  and  that  they  should  have  weapons  hidden 
under  their  blankets,  and  that  the  rest  of  the  village,  armed 
with  tomahawks,  dirks,  and  knives,  also  hidden  under  their 
blankets,  should  follow  them  and  enter  the  Fort.  In  order 
not  to  arouse  any  suspicion  they  were  to  stroll  about  while 
the  former  attended  the  council  with  the  Commandant.  The 
Ottawa  women  were  also  to  enter,  furnished  with  shortened 
guns  and  other  weapons  hidden  under  their  blankets,  and 
take  up  their  position  in  the  rear  streets  of  the  Fort  and 
await  the  signal  which  should  be  a  war-cry  given  by  the 


"Francois  Marie  Picote,  Sieur  de  Bellestre,  was  the  last  French  commandant 
at  Detroit.  He  was  appointed  in  1758  and  held  the  office  until  Detroit  and  tlie 
entire  Northwest  were  surrendered  to  Maj.  Robert  Rogers  in  the  fall  of  1760. 
He  was  born  in  Montreal  1719,  married  Marie  Anne  Nivard  dit  St.  Dizier  July 
2S,  1738,  by  whom  he  had  six  children,  all  born  at  Montreal.  In  1755  he  married 
Marie  Anne  Magnon  dit  Lesperance.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Legislative 
Council  of  Lower  Canada  in  1763  Cunder  British  rule)  he  was  made  one  of 
its  members.  He  died  at  Quebec  in  May,  1793.  Mich.  Pion.  Colls.,  VoL  XXXIV, 
pp.  336-340. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  41 

peche,  ils  ne  savent  pas  nos  dessiens  et  ils  ne  le  peuvent 
qiiand  ils  Le  voudraient,  vous  Sgavez  tous  comme  moy, 
que  quand  Les  anglais  sent  venus  Sur  nos  terres  pour 
chasser  notre  pere,  Belle  estre,  ils  ont  ote  tous  les  fusils 
des  frangais  et  qu'il  n'ont  plus  d'armes  pour  se  deffendre, 
ainsy  il  est  terns,  frapons,  S'il  y  a  des  fran<;ais  qui  prennent 
pour  eux  frapons  dessus  comme  sur  L'anglois,  Souvenez- 
vous  de  ce  que  Le  maitre  de  La  vie  a  dit  de  faire  a  notre 
trere  Le  Loup,  cela  nous  regarde  tous  comme  eux,  Jay 
envoye  des  colliers  et  des  paroles  a  nos  freres  Les  sauteux 
du  Saguinaw,  a  nos  freres  les  outasois  de  michelimakinak 
et  a  ceux  de  la  riviere  a  la  tranche  pour  se  joindre 
a  nous  et  qui  ne  tarderons  pas  a  venir  et  en  Les  attendant 
frappons  toujours  il  n'y  a  plus  de  temps  a  perdre,  et  quand 
Les  anglais  seront  defait  nous  voirons  ce  nous  ferons,  et 
nous  Boucherons  Les  passages  pour  qu'ils  ne  viennent  plus 
sur  nos  terre. 

Cette  harangue  que  pondiak  prononqa  d'un  ton  Si  ener- 
gique  fit  Sur  toute  Lassemble  du  Conseil,  tout  I'effet  qu'il 
s'en  etait  promis  et  jurent  tous  d'une  commune  voix  La 
perte  entiere  de  la  nation  anglaise. 

If  fut  decide  a  la  fin  du  Conseil  que  pondiak  a  la  teste 
de  Soixante  hommes  choisies  iraient  dans  le  fort  pour 
demander  un  grand  Conseil  au  Commandant  anglais  et 
qu'ils  auraient  des  armes  cache  Sous  Leurs  couvertes  et 
que  le  reste  du  village  Les  suivraient  armees  de  Casse- 
teste,  de  dague,  de  Couteaux  cache  Sous  leurs  couvertes 
et  entrerait  dans  le  fort,  comme  S'ils  sepromenaient  pour 
que  Ton  eu  aucun  mauvais  SoupQon  deux,  pendant  que 
Les  premiers  tiendraient  Conseil  chez  le  Commandant,  et 
les  femmes  outasoises  devaient  aussi  entre  munis  de  fusil, 
coupi  et  d'autres  armes  offensives  cache  Sous  Leurs  cou- 
vertes, se  porte  dans  Les  rues  de  derriere  dans  le  fort,  et 
attendre  le  Signal,  qui  serait  un  cris  de  mort  que  le  grand 
chef  devait  faire  et  que  tous  ensemble  fraperoient  sur  Les 


43  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

great  chief.  All  together  should  fall  upon  the  English, 
taking  good  care  not  to  harm  the  French  which  lived  in 
the  Fort.  The  Hurons  and  the  Pottawattamies  were  to 
divide  into  two  bands, — one  to  go  down  the  river  to  cut 
off  those  who  should  come  (from  that  way),  the  other  to 
remain  around  the  Fort  at  a  distance  to  kill  those  who  were 
working  outside;  and  in  all  the  villages  the  war-song  w^as 
to  be  chanted. 

After  all  the  plans  were  made  on  this  day  each  nation 
withdrew  to  its  village,  resolved  to  carry  out  the  orders  of 
the  great  chief.  But  whatever  precautions  they  took 
against  being  discovered,  God  brought  it  about  that  they 
were  discovered,  as  I  shall  relate. 

An  Ottawa  Indian  named  Mahiganne,  who  had  but  feebly 
assented  to  the  conspiracy  and  was  displeased  at  the  evil 
behavior  of  those  of  his  tribe,  came  Friday  night,  unbe- 
known to  the  other  Indians,  to  the  gate  of  the  Fort  and 
asked  to  speak  to  the  Commandant,  saying  he  had  some- 
thing of  importance  to  communicate  to  him  alone.  The  gate 
was  opened  and  he  was  conducted  to  Mr.  Campbell,  second 
in  command,  who  had  Mr.  Gladwyn,  the  commander-in- 
chief  notified.  They  wanted  to  notify  Mr.  La  Butte,  the 
interpreter,  but  the  Indian  did  not  wish  it,  saying  that  he 
could  speak  enough  French  to  make  himself  understood  by 
Mr.  Campbell.  He  then  explained  to  the  two  commanders 
the  conspiracy  of  the  Indians,  and  how  they  were  all  evil- 
disposed  and  had  sw^orn  their  destruction  and  in  the  course 
of  that  very  day  were  to  fall  upon  them,  and  that  they 
must  be  on  their  guard.  He  also  begged  the  commander 
not  to  tell  anybody,  either  of  the  French  or  English,  what 
he  had  just  related  to  them,  because  the  rest  of  the  Indians 
would  not  fail  to  find  it  out  sooner  or  later,  and  knowing 
about  it  they  would  kill  him  from  rage  at  having  failed  in 
their  attack.  The  Commandant  thanked  him  and  wanted 
to  reward  him  with  presents.     The  Indian  would  not  take 


JOURNAL,  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  43 

anglais  et  de  prendre  Bien  garde  de  faire  du  mal  aux 
fran?ais  qui  habitaient  dans  le  fort,  et  les  hurons  et  les 
paux  devaient  se  partage  en  deux  bandes  L'une  devait  aller 
en  bas  de  la  riviere  pour  arreter  ceux  qui  viendraient  et 
I'autre  Bande  estre  autour  du  fort  au  Loing  pour  tuer 
ceux  qui  etaient  a  travailler  dehors  le  fort  et  qu'il  fallait 
chanter  La  guerre  chaqu'un  dans  son  village,  se  jour  la 
toutes  les  dimensions  prises  chaque  nation  se  retira  dans 
son  village  avec  resolutions  d'executer  Les  ordres  de  leur 
grand  chef,  mais  quelque  procation  qu'ils  prirent  pour 
n'estre  pas  decouvert  Dieu  permis  qu'ils  le  furent  comme 
Je  vais  le  dire. 

Un  sauvage  outasois  nomme  Mahiganne  qui  n'avait  que 
faiblement  donne  Sa  voix  dans  la  Conspiration  et  qui 
n'etant  pas  content  de  la  mauvaise  demarche  de  ceux  de  sa 
nation,  vint  dans  la  nuit  du  vendredy  au  Samedy;  Sans 
que  les  autres,  Sauvages  Le  Seussent,  a  la  porte  du  fort, 
demande  a  parle  au  Commandant  disant  qu'il  avait  quelque 
chose  d'important  a  Luy  dire  En  particulier,  Les  portes 
luy  furent  ouvertes  ont  Le  Conduisit  chez  Mr.  Cambel, 
second  commandant  qui  fit  avertir  Mr.  Gladouine,  Com- 
mandant en  chef.  L'on  voulii  faire  avertir  Mr.  La  Butte, 
interprete  Le  Sauvage  ne  voulu  point;  disant  qu'il  parlerait 
asse  frangais  pour  se  faire  entendre  de  Mr.  Cambel,  il 
declara  a  Ses  deux  Commandants  La  Conspiration  des 
Sauvages  et  qu'ils  etaient  tons  tres  mal  intentionnecs  et 
qu'ils  avaient  Jure  Leurs  pertes,  que  dans  La  Journee  ils 
devaient  frape  Sur  eux  et  qu'il  eu  a  se  tenir  Sur  Leur- 
garde,  et  il  pria  ensuite  Les  Commandants  de  ne  pas  dire 
a  personne  ce  qu'il  venait  de  leurs  Communique  ny  aux 
frangais  ny  aux  anglais,  parceque  Les  autres  Sauvages  ne 
manqueraient  pas  de  le  Sgavoir  tot  ou  tard  et  que  le  Sga- 
chant  ils  le  tueroient  de  rage  de  leur  avoir  fait  manque 
Leur  coup.  Le  Commandant  Le  remercia  et  voulii  Luy 
donne  des  presents.     Le  Sauvage  n'en  voulii  point  et  pria 


44  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

any  and  again  begged  the  commanders  not  to  betray  him, 
and  the  promise  was  made  and  kept.^^ 

The  commanders,  after  they  had  heard  this  report  which 
appeared  to  them  to  be  true,  gave  orders  at  once  that  the 
guard  should  be  doubled  at  daybreak,  and  that  there  should 
be  two  sentries  at  each  big  gate,  and  that  the  two  small 
gates  should  be  closed.  This  was  quickly  done.  The  offi- 
cers were  also  enjoined  to  inspect  the  arms  of  their  troops 
and  warn  them  to  be  ready  to  appear  at  the  first  roll  of 
the  drum.  All  of  this  was  to  be  done  without  any  com- 
motion so  that  the  Indians  coming  into  the  Fort  might  not 
notice  that  their  plans  were  discovered.  The  orders  were 
carried  out  so  well  that  the  French  did  not  know  anything 
about  it. 

May  7. 

The  fatal  day  which  was  the  7th  of  May  and  the  26th 
of  the  moon,  following  the  Indian  custom  of  reckoning 
time,  having  arrived  for  the  English  and  perhaps  for  the 
French,  Pontiac,  who  believed  his  designs  still  a  secret,  or- 
dered in  the  morning  that  all  his  men  should  chant  the 
war-song  and  paint  themselves  and  put  feathers  in  their 
hair, — an  Indian  custom  when  about  to  go  on  the  warpath ; 
moreover,  all  were  to  be  armed  with  whatever  was  neces- 
sary for  the  attack. 

Toward  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  came  in  his  trap- 
pings to  ask  for  a  council,  and  it  was  granted.  All  of  his 
men  to  the  number  of  sixty  who  were  to  take  part  in  the 
council  entered  the  house  of  Mr.  Campbell,  second  in  com- 
mand, where  Mr.  Gladwyn,  commander-in-chief,  was  with 
a  part  of  his  officers  who  were  all  aware  of  the  bold  designs 


^^The  mystery  attached  to  the  discovery  of  Pontiac's  designs  has  been  the 
theme  of  many  romances.  The  most  popular  is  the  story  told  by  Parkman  of  the 
Indian  girl  "Catherine,"  who  was  in  love  with  Gladwin  and  betrayed  the  plot  in 
order  to  save  him.  The  Indians  immediately  hit  upon  this  as  the  reason  for 
their  failure  to  surprise  the  garrison  and  actually  did  find  and  punish  an  Indian 
woman  named  "Catherine"  as  told  in  this  narrative.  They  confronted  Gladwin 
with  the  woman  and  demanded  to  know  who  was  their  betrayer.  MacDonald 
describes  the  scene  and  says  that  "he  told  them  that  it  was  one  of  themselves 
whose  name  he  promised  never  to  reveal."  There  seems  to  be  truth  in  the  story 
that  Angelique  Cuillerier  dit  Beaubien,  whose  father  and  brother  were  friends 
of  Pontiac,  betrayed  the  secret  to  her  lover,  James  Sterling,  who  in  his  turn 
disclosed  it  to  Gladwin,  for  ten  years  later  Maj.  Henry  Bassett  wrote  to  Haldi- 
mand   (Aug.   29,   1773),  "I   recommend   Mr.  James   Sterling,  who  is  the  first  mer- 


JOURNAL.  OU    DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  45 

Mrs.  Les  Commandants  de  ne  pas  le  vendre  a  personne, 
ce  qui  Lui  fut  promis  et  tenus. 

Messieurs  Les  Commandants  Sur  ce  rapport  qui  Leur 
parurent  fidelle  Sans  rien  devoille  de  ce  qu'ils  SQavaient 
ordonna  sur  Le  cham  que  au  jour  La  garde  serait  re- 
double, qu'il  y  eut  deux  factionnaires  a  chaque  grande 
portes  et  que  les  deux  petites  portes  fusent  condamne  ce 
qui  fut  fait  tout  de  suite  et  enjoint  aux  officiers  qu'il 
eussent  a  visiter  Les  armes  de  leurs  troupes  de  leur  avertir 
de  se  tenir  prest  a  paroitre  a  premier  coup  de  Baguette  et 
que  tout  cela  fut  fait  Sans  grand  mouvement  pour  que  les 
Sauvages  venant  dans  Lefort  ne  s'appercussent  point  qu'ils 
sont  decouverts  les  ordres  fussent  bien  execute.  Les  fran- 
Qais  ne  s'en  apperQurent  point. 

7,  de  May. — Le  jour  fatal  pour  les  anglais  et  pent  estre 
pour  Les  francais  Etant  venus,  qui  etait  le  Septieme  de 
May  et  Le  26e  de  la  Lune,  suivant  L'usage  de  compter 
parmis  Les  Sauvages.  Pondiak  qui  croyait  Son  dessein 
Bien  secret  ordonna  le  matin  a  tons  Ses  gens  que  La 
guerre  fut  chante  dans  son  village  et  de  se  vernir  et  pein- 
ture,  de  mettre  du  duvets  Sur  sa  tete,  c'est  une  fagon  de 
Shabiller  parmis  Les  Sauvages  qui  vont  en  guerre.  Et 
que  tous  chacun  Sarma  de  ce  qui  lui  etait  necessaires  pour 
frape  et  vint  en  cette  equipage  vers  les  dix  heures  du 
matin  demandere  a  parle  en  Conseil,  ce  quoi  Luy  fut 
accorde,  tous  Ses  gens  au  nombre  de  Soixante  destine 
pour  le  Conseil  entrerent  dans  La  maison  qu'occupait  Mr. 
Cambel  second  commandant  ou  Mr.   Gladouin. 

Commandant  en  chef  se  trouva  avec  une  partie  des  of- 
ficiers qui  tous  etaient  prevenues  du  dessein  temera'ires  de 


chant  at  this  place  and  a  gentleman  of  good  character,  during  the  late  war, 
through  a  Lady,  that  he  then  courted,  from  whom  he  had  the  best  informationi 
was  in  part  the  means  to  save  the  garrison."  Rutherford,  in  his  narrative,  says 
that  while  at  the  house  of  Quilleim  (Cuillerier),  during  his  captivity,  he  had  a 
conversation  with  Miss  Quilleim  in  which  she  greatly  lamented  the  state  of  the 
English  and  the  dreadful  acts  of  the  Indians.  Still  another  version  is  given  in 
a  letter  of  Ensign  J.  Price  to  Col.  Henry  Bouquet,  Fort  Pitt,  June  26,  1763. 
In  this  we  are  told  "That  on  or  before  the  1st  of  May  1,500  Indians  arrived 
at  Detroit  and  wanted  to  hold  a  Treaty  in  the  Fort,  but  Major  Gladwin,  being 
told  by  Monsieur  Bauby  that  if  they  were  admitted,  they  would  fall  upon  and 
destroy  every  man  in  it,  ordered  the  garrison  under  arms,  which  the  chiefs  of 
the  Indians  seeing,  asked  if  he  was  afraid." 


46  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

of  Pontiac  and  had  arms  concealed  in  their  pockets.  The 
rest  of  the  officers  were  occupied  in  getting  their  troops  in 
readiness  to  appear  when  wanted.  This  was  done  with  so 
much  despatch  that  the  Indians  did  not  have  any  occasion 
for  suspicion.  While  the  council  was  assembling  the  other 
Ottawa  Indians  entered  and  took  their  places  according  to 
the  plans  agreed  upon  among  them. 

Pontiac  in  the  council,  thinking  that  it  was  about  time 
for  all  of  the  people  to  have  entered  and  taken  positions  in 
readiness  for  the  attack,  went  out  to  see  for  himself  if  all 
his  followers  were  ready  and  to  give  the  signal  which,  as 
I  have  said,  was  to  be  a  war-whoop.  He  perceived  some 
commotion  attracting  the  attention  of  his  men  toward  the 
drill-ground  and  wanted  to  see  what  it  might  be.  He 
noticed  that  the  troops  were  under  arms  and  drilling.  This 
maneuver  augured  ill  for  the  success  of  his  plot,  inasmuch 
as  he  was  surely  discovered  and  his  project  defeated.  He 
was  disconcerted  at  this  and  obliged  to  re-enter  the  council 
room  where  all  his  men  had  remained  waiting  only  for  the 
cry  to  attack.  They  were  greatly  surprised  when  they  saw 
him  come  back;  they  suspected  that  they  were  discovered 
and  that,  since  they  could  no  longer  succeed,  for  the  present 
they  must  leave  and  put  off  the  attack  to  another  day.  They 
talked  it  over  among  themselves  for  some  time,  and  then 
without  saying  good  bye  or  anything  they  went  out  of  the 
gate  to  regain  their  village  where  they  might  take  other 
measures  against  discovery  and  succeed  better. 

Pontiac,  upon  his  return  to  the  village,  found  himself  over- 
whelmed by  various  emotions, — anger,  fury,  and  rage.  As 
one  might  have  thought,  he  looked  like  a  lioness  robbed  of 
all  her  whelps.  He  assembled  all  his  young  men  and  made 
inquiries  among  them  to  see  if  they  did  not  know  the  one 
that  had  betrayed  them,  "because,"  he  said  to  them,  "I  see 
very  well  that  the  English  have  been  warned."  He  gave 
them  orders  to  try  to  find  out  the  traitor  in  the  nation,  for 
they  must  kill  him.     But  all  their  researches  v/ere  in  vain ; 


JOURNAL    OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  47 

pondiak  se  trouverent  avec  des  armes  cache  dans  Leurs 
poches.  L'autre  parties  des  officiers  etaient  occupe  a  faire 
tenir  Leurs  troupes  en  etat  deparaitre  au  Besoin,  ce  qui 
fut  fait  avec  tant  d'addresse  que  Les  sauvages  n'eurent  pas 
La  momdre  occasion  de  Soup<;on,  Le  Conseil  Se  tint  ou 
pendant  ce  temps  tous  les  autres  Sauvages  outasois  entre- 
rent  et  prirent  chacun  Leurs  places  suivant  Le  Conseil  cjui 
avait  ete  tenus  entre  eux. 

Pondiak,  dans  le  Conseil,  voyant  a  peu  pres  Le  temps 
que  tous  Ses  gens  pouvaient  estre  entre,  et  place  en  etat  de 
faire  Coup  il  sortis  pour  voir  par  luymesme  Si  tout  son 
monde  etoient  en  etat  de  frape  et  pour  donner  Le  Signal 
qui  comme  Jay  dit  etait  un  cris,  il  sappergu  de  quelque 
mouvement  qui  attirait  La  curiosite  de  ses  gens  Sur  La 
place  d'armes,  il  eut  envie  de  voir  ce  que  Se  pouvait  estre 
il  vit  que  La  troupe  etoient  sous  Les  armes  et  qu'ils 
fesoient  L' exercise,  cette  manoeuvre  Le  fit  mal  angure  pour 
son  dessein  voyant  Bien  qu'il  etait  decouvert  et  que  son 
pro  jet  etait  rompus,  ce  qui  Le  deconcerta  et  L'obligea  a 
rentre  dans  La  Salle  du  Conseil  ou  etoient  restes  tous  Ses 
gens  qui  n'attendoient  que  Le  cris  pour  frape.  Ceux  cy 
furent  Bien  surpris  quand  ils  Le  virent  rentre,  ils  se 
douterent  Bien  qu'ils  etaient  decouvert  et  que  ne  pouvant 
plus  reussir  pour  le  present  il  falloit  sortire  et  mettre  La 
party  a  un  autre  jour,  ils  se  parlerent  quelque  tems  en  eux 
et  sans  dire  adieu  ny  rien,  ils  passerent  Laporte  pour 
gagner  leurs  village  afin  de  prendre  d'autre  mesures  pour 
n'estre  pas  decouvert  et  mieux  reussir. 

De  retour  au  village,  pondiak  se  trouva  combatu  par 
divers  mouvement.  La  Collere,  Lafureur  et  Larage,  ont 
eu  dit  a  Levoir  une  Lionne  a  qui  ont  a  Enleve  sepetits,  il 
fait  assemble  tous  les  jeunes  gens,  S'inquette  deux  S'il  ne 
scauroient  pas  celuy  cjui  Les  vendaient,  parceque  Leur  dit 
ils,  Je  vois  bien  que  Les  anglois  ont  ete  avertis,  ils  Leur  or- 
donna  de  Sin  forme  et  detache  de  decouvrir  le  traite  de  la 
nation  qu'il  faloit  Letue,  mais  toutes  Leurs  recherche  fut 


48  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

the  one  who  had  informed  against  them  had  taken  too 
many  precautions  for  them  to  discover  him. 

In  the  meantime,  toward  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
there  arrived  in  the  village  a  false  rumor  that  it  was  a 
Chippewa  woman^^  who  had  betrayed  them,  and  that  she 
was  concealed  in  the  Pottawattamy  village.  At  this  report 
Pontiac  ordered  four  Indians  to  go  look  for  her  and  bring 
her  to  him,  and  these,  taking  delight  naturally  in  lawless- 
ness, were  not  so  slow  to  do  what  their  chief  told  them. 
They  crossed  the  river  directly  in  front  of  the  village,  and 
passed  by  the  Fort  quite  naked  but  for  breechclouts,  with 
knives  in  their  hands.  They  were  yelling  as  they  went 
along  that  their  plan  had  failed,  which  caused  the  French 
along  the  shore  who  knew  nothing  about  the  plot  of  the 
Indians,  to  think  they  had  some  evil  designs  either  upon 
them  or  upon  the  English.  They  arrived  at  the  Pottawat- 
tamy village  and  actually  found  the  woman  who  had  not 
even  thought  of  them.  Nevertheless,  they  took  her  and 
made  her  walk  ahead  of  them,  all  the  while  uttering  yells 
of  joy  as  if  they  had  a  victim  upon  whom  they  were  going 
to  vent  their  cruelty.  They  took  her  into  the  Fort  and 
before  the  Commandant  as  if  to  confront  her  with  him, 
and  demand  if  she  was  not  the  one  who  had  disclosed  to 
him  their  plans.  They  got  no  more  satisfaction  than  as  if 
they  had  kept  quiet;  the  Commandant  ordered  bread  and 
beer  for  them  and  for  her,  and  then  they  took  her  to  their 
chief  in  their  village. 

It  was  now  a  question  in  the  village  of  inventing  some 
ruse  to  conceal  their  treachery  and  carry  through  their  evil 
projects.  Pontiac,  whose  genius  constantly  supplied  him 
with  new  resources,  said  that  he  had  thought  out  another 
scheme  which  would  succeed  better  than  the  first  one,  and 
that  the  next  day  he  would  act  upon  it;  he  would  go  to 
speak  with  the  Commandant  to  try  to  undeceive  him  con- 


"Henry  Conner,  one  of  the  interpreters  at  Detroit,  relates  of  Catherine,  that 
in  later  years  she  perished  by  falling,  when  drunk,  into  a  kettle  of  boiling  maple 
syrup. 


JOURNAL.  OU    DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  49 

inutile,  celuy  qui  Les  avoient  vendue  avait  trop  Bien  pris 
ses  precautions  pour  qu'ils  ne  vinsent  pas  a  le  connaitre. 
Cependant  Sur  les  quatre  lieures  apres  midy  il  vint  une 
fausse  nouvelle  dans  le  village  que  c'etait  une  femme  Sau- 
teuse  qui  les  avoient  vendiie  et  qu'elle  etait  cachee :  Dans 
le  village  des  poux,  sur  ce  rapport  pondiak  ordonna  a 
quatre  Sauvages  de  L'aller  cherche  et  de  La  Luy  amene, 
ceux  qui.  Se  plaise  naturellement  aux  desordre  ne  f  urent  pas 
paresseux  a  faire  ce  que  leurs  chef  Leurs  dit  et  traverserent 
La  riviere  droit  devant  Le  village  et  passerent  dans  Le  fort 
tous  nud  n'ayant  Sur  eux  que  Leurs  Brayois  et  leurs  Couteaux 
a  leurs  mains,  cryant  Le  Long  du  chemin  qui  Leur  coup  etait 
manque,  ce  qui  donna  Lieu  au  fran^ais  de  la  Coste  qui  ne 
savoient  pas  Le  dessein  des  Sauvages  a  penser  qu'ils  avoient 
quelque  mauvaise  intention  ou  Sur  eux  ou  Sur  Les  Anglais, 
ils  arriverent  au  village  des  paux  et  trouverent  effective- 
ment  La  femme  qui  ne  pensait  pas  a  eux,  cependant  ils 
La  prirent  et  La  firent  marche  devant  eux  en  faisant  des 
cris  de  Joy  comme  quand  ils  tiennent  une  victime  Sur  La- 
quelle  ils  vont  assouvir  Leurs  cruaute,  ils  La  firent  entre 
dans  Lefort  et  L'amener  chez  Le  Commandant  comme 
pour  La  reconfronte  et  pour  demander  au  Commandant 
Sy  ce  n'etait  pas  d'elle  qu'il  avait  Sgu  leurs  desseins,  ils  ne 
furent  pas  plus  satisfait  que  Sils  se  fusent  tenus  tranquille 
ils  se  firent  donne  par  Le  Commandant  du  pain  et  de  la 
Biere  pour  eux  et  pour  elle  et  L'emmenerent  a  leurs  chefs 
dans  Leurs  village. 

II  etait  actuellement  question  dans  Le  village  d'inventer 
quelque  nouvelle  ruse  pour  masquer  leurs  trahison  £t 
mettre  fin  a  Leurs  mauvais  projets,  pondiak  a  qui  le  genis 
fournissait  toujours  de  nouvelle  ressource,  dit  qu'il  avoit 
premidite  un  autre  dessein  qui  Lui  reussirait  mieux  que 
Lepremier,  et  que  Le  jour  suivant  il  travailleroit  en  Con- 
sequence et  irait  parle  au  Commandant  pour  tache  de  le 
dessuade  de  ce  que  Lon  Lui  avait  dit  et  qu'il  ferait  si  Bien 


50  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

cerning  what  had  been  told  him,  and  he  would  play  his  part 
SO  well  with  these  gentlemen  in  disproving  the  falsehood, 
that  as  soon  as  they  heard  him  they  would  fall  into  his  trap 
and  he  could  accomplish  his  purpose  before  they  knew  it. 

Fortunately,  however,  the  Commandant  and  all  the  offi- 
cers who  had  escaped  the  danger  which  threatened  them 
and  were  safe  only  as  long  as  they  were  on  their  guard, 
were  not  the  kind  of  men  to  be  caught  by  the  flattering  talk 
of  a  traitor;  consequently,  all  that  the  enmity  of  Pontiac 
could  devise  against  them  was  useless.  But  still  he  attempt- 
ed to  come  to  the  Fort,  as  if  sure  of  his  plan,  and  actually 
did  come  as  he  had  told  his  followers  he  would  do. 

May  8th,  Sunday, 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  came  accompanied 
by  Mackatepelicite,  Breton,  and  Chavinon,  all  chiefs  of  the 
same  Ottawa  nation.  They  brought  with  them  a  calumet, 
which  they  call  among  themselves  the  calumet  of  peace. 
They  asked  and  were  granted  an  audience  by  the  Com- 
mandant, and  did  all  they  could  with  fine  words  to  deceive 
him  and  lead  him  and  all  his  troops  into  the  snare  which 
they  had  set  for  him.  Warned  of  their  wicked  intrigues 
the  Commandant  acted  as  if  he  believed  what  they  told 
him,  but  nevertheless  was  on  his  guard. 

Pontiac  told  him  as  proof  of  his  cherishing  no  bad  de- 
signs that  he  had  brought  the  pipe  of  peace  for  them  to 
smoke  together  in  token  of  agreement;  and  that  he  was 
going  to  leave  it  with  him  as  a  guarantee  of  the  Indians' 
uprightness,  and  that  as  long  as  he  had  it  he  need  not  fear 
anything  from  them.  The  Commandant  accepted  the  pipe 
which  he  well  knew  was  a  feeble  guarantee  against  the  bad 
faith  of  an  Indian.  After  the  Commandant  had  received 
it  Pontiac  withdrew  with  his  chiefs,  well  satisfied  and  be- 
lieving that  his  tricks  had  succeeded  and  entangled  the  Eng- 
lish in  the  snares  which  his  wickedness  had  set  for  them. 
But  without  knowing  it  he  was  deceived  in  his  expecta- 
tions. 

He  and  his  chiefs  returned  to  his  village  as  happy  as  if 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  51 

son  affaire  avec  Ses  Messieurs  pour  prouve  Le  faux  qu'a  son 
entende  Messieurs  Les  anglois  donneroient  dans  son  pan- 
neau,  qu'insensiblement  il  viendrait  a  bout  de  les  defaire. 

Mais  heureusement  Messieurs  Les  Commandant  et  tousi 
Les  officiers  qui  avoient  echape  du  danger  qui  Les  mena- 
goient  et  qui  n'en  etoient  dehors  que  autant  qu'ils  seraient 
Sur  Leurs  gardes,  n'etoient  pas  homme  a  Selaisse  Sur- 
prendre  audiscours  flateurs  d'un  traite,  de  sorte  que  tons 
ce  que  La  malignite  de  pondiak  pouvait  Leurs  dicte  fut 
inutille,  mais  comme  Sur  de  son  faite,  ii  tenta  de  venir 
au  fort  et  y  vint  en  effet  comme  il  L'avait  dit  a  Ses  gens. 

8eme  May. — Le  Dimanche,  huiteme  de  May,  vers  un 
heure  apres  midy  accompagne  de  Alackatepelicite,  de 
Breton  et  de  chavoinon,  tous  chefs  de  la  meme  nation 
outasoise,  ils  apporterent  avec  eux  un  Calumet  qu'ils 
nomme  entre  eux  Le  Calumet  de  paix,  ils  demanderent 
aparle,  Mr.  Le  Commandant  Leurs  donna  audience,  ils 
firent  par  Leurs  beaux  discours  tout  ce  qu'ils  purent  pour 
Le  trompe  et  L'engage  Luy  et  toute  Sa  troupe  dans  Les 
pieges  qu'ils  Luy  tendaient,  Mr.  Le  Commandant  qui  venait 
re  fouler,  prevenus  de  Leurs  intrigues  mauvaise  fit  fainte 
de  les  croire  aux  prejudices  de  Ce  cju'on  Lui  avait  dit, 
mais  toutefois  Setenant  Sur  Ses  gardes. 

Pondiak  Luy  dit  que  pour  preuve  qu'il  n'avait  aucun 
mauvais  dessein,  il  avait  apporte  Le  Calumet  de  paix,  pour 
fumer  tous  ensemble  En  signe  d'union,  Et  qu'il  allait  Le 
Luy  Laisse  entre  Les  mains  comme  en  temoignage  de 
Leurs  droiture  et  que  tant  qu'il  L'aurait  ils  ne  devoient 
plus  craindre  de  leurs  part.  Mr.  Le  Commandant  accepta 
Le  calumet  qu'il  Scavait  Bien  Estre  un  faible  garant  contre 
La  mauvaise  foy  d'un  Sauvage,  apres  que  Le  Commandant 
L'eiit  reQue,  pondiak  Sortis  avec  Ses  chefs  Bien  content 
croyant  que  Ses  demarches  Luy  avait  reussit  et  avait  en- 
gage Ses  Messieurs  dans  Les  peiges  que  Sa  malignite 
Leurs  tendaient  mais  Sans  Le  S<;avoir  il  fut  trompe  dans 
son  attente. 

II  retourna  Luy  et  Ses  chefs  a  son  village  Bien  joyeux 


52  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

they  were  sure  of  the  success  of  their  enterprise,  and  in 
a  few  words  they  reported  to  their  young  men  the  result 
of  their  negotiations.  They  sent  messengers  to  the  bad 
band  of  the  Hurons  and  to  the  Pottawattamies  to  notify 
them  of  what  they  had  just  accomplished  at  the  Fort,  and 
that  the  next  day  was  the  one  which  should  settle  the  fate 
of  these  Englishmen,  and  that  they  should  hold  themselves 
ready  for  the  first  call. 

In  order  to  play  his  part  better  and  make  it  appear  that 
neither  he  nor  his  followers  cherished  evil  designs  any 
longer,  Pontiac  invited  for  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
the  good  and  bad  Huron  bands  and  the  Pottawattamies  to 
come  and  play  lacrosse  with  his  young  men.  A  good  many 
French  from  each  side  of  the  river  came  to  play  also,  and 
were  well  received  by  the  three  nations.  The  game  lasted 
till  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  when  it  was 
over  everybody  thought  of  returning  home.  The  French 
who  lived  on  the  Fort  side  of  the  river  and  had  been 
beaten  were  obliged  to  recross  the  river  in  order  to  return 
home.  As  they  embarked  in  their  canoes  they  began  to 
utter  war-whoops  and  yells  of  victory,  as  the  Indians  do 
when  they  have  won  a  game.  The  officers  in  command, 
ever  on  the  alert,  thought  it  was  the  Indians  crossing  to 
fall  upon  the  Fort  and  massacre  them;  they  ordered  the 
gates  to  be  closed  quickly  and  the  troops  and  traders  to 
take  up  their  positions  on  the  ramparts  for  defense  in  case 
of  attack.  However,  it  was  only  a  false  alarm  occasioned 
by  the  imprudence  of  the  young  Frenchmen  who  did  not 
realize  the  situation. 

Pontiac  who  had  no  thought  whatever  of  coming  to  the 
Fort,  was  for  the  moment  occupied  with  the  Hurons  and 
the  Pottawattamies  who  had  remained  in  the  village. 
After  the  game  he  related  to  them  all  the  details  of  the 
parley  between  the  commanders  and  himself  and  his  chiefs, 
telling  them  that  according  to  the  word  of  these  gentlemen 
he  was  to  return  the  following  day  to  smoke  the  pipe  of 
peace,  or  rather  of  treason,  and  that  he  hoped  to  succeed. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE   CONSPIRATION  53 

Comme  Sils  eussent  ete  Sure  de  la  reussite  de  leur  entre- 
prise,  et  en  peu  de  mots  renderent  Compte  a  leurs  jeunes 
gens  de  leurs  negotiation.  Et  envoyerent  des  deputees  a 
la  Mauvaise  Bande  des  hurons  et  aux  poux  pour  leur 
donner  avis  de  ce  qu'ils  venoient  de  faire  au  fort,  que  Le 
Jour  suivant  etait  Celuy  qui  deciderait  de  Mrs.  Les  Anglois, 
et  qu'ils  eussent  a  se  tenir  pres  au  premiers  avertissement. 

Pondiak  pour  mieux  jouer  son  Role  et  faire  croire  que 
veritablement  il  ne  pensait  plus  ny  Lui  ny  Son  monde  a 
Leurs  mauvais  desseins,  il  invita  Sur  les  quatre  heures 
apres  midi  la  bonne  et  la  mauvaise  bande,  tons  les  hurons 
et  Les  poux  a  venir  jouer  a  la  crosse  avec  ses  jeunes  gens, 
il  y  eut  beaucoup  de  frangais  de  I'un  et  de  L'autre  cote 
de  la  riviere  qui  y  furent  pour  jouer  aussi  et  qui  furent 
Bien  v&qu  des  trois  nations.  Le  Jeu  dura  j  usque  vers  Sept 
heures  du  soir  et  etant  fini  chaqu'un  Songea  a  Se  retirer 
chez  Soy.  Les  franqois  qui  demeuraient  de  coste  cy  du 
fort  qui  avait  ete  joue,  pour  revenir  chez  eux  furent  oblige 
de  retraverser  la  riviere,  en  embarquant  dans  Leurs  canots, 
ils  se  mirent  a  faire  des  cris  et  des  Sacquaquois,  Comment 
font  les  Sauvages  quand  ils  gagne  aux  Jeux,  Mrs.  Les 
Commandants,  tou jours  en  defiance  crurent  que  C'etaient 
Les  Sauvages  qui  traversoient  pour  foncer  Sur  Lefort  et 
Les  massacre  ordonna  que  L'on  ferma  vite  les  portes  et 
que  La  troupe  et  le  Commergant  fussent  Sur  Les  ramparts 
pour  se  deffendre  en  cas  d'attaque,  mais  ce  ne  fut  qu'une 
fausse  allerte  occasionne  par  L'imprudence  des  jeunes  gens 
franqois  qui  n'en  savait  pas  plus.     Long. 

Pondiak  qui  ne  pensait  nullement  a  venir  au  fort  etait 
dans  le  moment  occupe  avec  Les  hurons  et  Les  paux  qui 
etaient  reste  au  village  apres  Ses  jeux  il  Leur  detailla 
toute  Ses  Circonstances  de  sa  negotiation  Entre  Mrs.  Les 
Commandants  et  Luy  avec  Ses  chefs  Leurs  disant  que 
suivant  La  parole  de  Ses  Messieurs,  il  devrait  retourne 
Le  Landemain  pour  fumer  dans  Le  Calumet  de  paix  ou 
plustot  de  trahison  et  qu'il  esperait  faire  son  coup,  il  con- 
tait  Sans  Son  hoste. 


54  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

But  he  reckoned  without  his  host. 

May  9,  Monday;  The  First  day  of  Rogations. 

Following  the  custom  of  the  church  the  curate  and  all 
the  clergy^  ^  conducted  the  procession  outside  the  Fort  with- 
out incurring  any  harm.  Likewise  mass  was  celebrated, 
after  which  everybody  in  his  own  house  wondered  how  the 
day  would  pass,  knowing  full  well  that  Pontiac  would  make 
some  other  attempt. 

The  good  people  secretly  lamented  the  evil  fate  which 
threatened  the  English  who  did  not  have  much  of  a  force. 
Their  garrison  consisted  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
troops,  including  the  officers,  eight  in  number,  and  some 
forty  men,  traders  and  their  employees^ '^.  In  addition,  they 
had  two  vessels  of  unequal  size^'^  which  were  anchored  in 
front  of  the  Fort  and  defended  the  place  from  the  side 
toward  the  river.  They  would  have  been  few  if  the  In- 
dians by  any  chance  had  been  good  soldiers. 

Pontiac  who  had  concealed  in  his  breast  the  murderous 
knife  which  was  to  cut  short  the  life  of  these  people,  set 
out  to  go  to  the  Fort  with  fifty  men  of  his  nation  in  accord- 
ance with  what  he  had  arranged  the  night  before  with  the 
Hurons.  The  others  were  to  observe  the  same  behavior  as 
on  the  preceding  Saturday. 

About  eleven  o'clock  he  presented  himself  at  the  gates 
with  his  followers,  but  he  was  refused  in  pursuance  of  an 
order  of  the  Commandant.  He  insisted  upon  entering, 
asking  to  speak  to  the  Commandant,  and  saying  that  he 
and  his  chiefs  had  come  only  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace 
in  accordance  with  the  promise  which  the  Commandant  had 
given  them.  He  was  told  that  he  could  easily  enter,  but 
only  with  twelve  or  fifteen  of  the  leading  men  of  his  nation 
and  no  more.  He  replied  that  all  his  people  wanted  to 
smell  the  smoke  of  the  peace-pipe,  and  that  if  they  could 
not  enter  he  would  not  enter  either.     He  was  promptly 


^^Father  Simple  Bocquet,  a  Recollet  Missionary,  was  priest  at  Detroit  during 
this   period. 

^^"At  the  beginning  of  this  affair  there  were  not  above  80  persons  in  the  whole 
that  carried  arms  in  the  fort  and  about  34  on  board  two  vessels."  The  same 
article   als'o   states   that    the    fort    at    Detroit   was   a    square    stockade,    fortified    with 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  55 

Le  Lundy,  9eme  de  May,  premier  Jours  des  Rrogations, 
suivant  La  Coutume  de  L'eglise,  Le  Cure  et  tous  Le 
Clerge  firent  La  procession  deliors  le  fort  bien  paisiblc- 
ment,  messe  fut  celebre  de  mesme,  ou  apres  chaqu'un  chez 
Soy.  Examinait  comment  La  Journee  se  passerait  Sga- 
chant  Bien  c]ue  Pondiak  ferait  encore  quelque  tentative. 
Les  honnetes  gens  gemissaient  secrettement  Sur  Le 
Mauvais  Sort  dont  ces  Messieurs  etaient  menacee  et  qui 
n'avaient  pas  beaucoup  de  monde.  Leurs  garnison  con- 
sistaient  aux  environs  de  cent  trente  hommes  de  troupes 
y  compris  Les  officiers  qui  etaient  huit  de  leurs  corps,  et 
autour  de  quarante  hommes  tant  Les  Commergants  que 
Leus  engages,  de  plus  Ses  Alessieurs  avaient  deux  Barques 
de  differentes  grosseurs  qui  etaient  mouilles  devant  Lefort 
et  qu'en  deffendoient  La  place  du  coste  de  la  riviere, 
s'etoient  peu  Sy  malheureusement  Les  Sauvages  eut  ete 
de  bon  Soldats. 

Pondiak  qui  cachait  dans  son  Coeur  Le  Couteau  meur- 
trie  qui  devait  tranche  Le  fil  des  jour  de  Ses  Messieurs,  se 
deposa,  suivant  ce  qu'il  avait  Laveille  aux  hurons  et  aux 
poux  a  venir  au  fort  avec  cinquante  hommes  de  sa  nation 
et  tous  Le  reste  devoient  observe  La  mesme  demarche  que 
Le  Samedy  precedent,  il  se  presenta  aux  portes  Sur  les 
onze  heures  pour  entrer  avec  son  monde,  ce  quy  Luy  fut 
refuse  suivant  Les  ordres  du  Commandant,  il  fit  instance 
pour  entrer,  demandant  a  parler  au  Commandant,  disant 
qu'il  ne  venait  Luy  et  Ses  chefs  que  pour  fumer  dans  le 
Calumet  de  paix  suivant  La  promesse  qui  Luy  en  avait  ete 
faite  par  Mr.  Le  Commandant,  il  luy  fut  repondu  que 
volontiers  il  entrerait,  mais  seulement  avec  douze  ou 
quinze  considere  de  sa  nation  et  pas  davantage,  il  fit  re- 
ponce  que  tous  ces  gens  voulaient  sentir  La  fumee  du 
Calumet  Et  que  S'y  Ses  gens  n'entraient  pas,  il  n'entrerait 
pas  non  plus,  il  fut  refuse  tout  net,  et  fut  contraint  de  s'en 

four  bastions  and   was  large  enough   to   hold  3,000   troops.      Gentleman's  Magazine, 
1763,.  P-  455- 

"These  two  vessels  were  probably  the  Huron  and  the  Beaver.  Buffalo  Hist. 
Soc.  Publ.    VI,  p.   26. 


56  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIR.\CY 

refused  and  was  forced  to  return  to  his  village  in  a  bad 
humor.  However,  this  disturbed  these  gentlemen  very 
little.  The  Commandant'^''  had  the  French  warned  to  keep 
in  their  houses^^. 

Pontiac,  enraged  to  see  that  his  last  stratagem  had  failed 
and  all  his  projects  were  wrecked,  caught  up  a  tomahawk  as 
soon  as  he  entered  his  village  and  chanted  the  war-song, 
saying  that  inasmuch  as  he  could  not  strike  the  English 
within  the  Fort  he  would  attack  those  on  the  outside;  he 
ordered  all  his  people,  men,  women  and  children,  to  cross 
the  river  to  the  side  where  the  Fort  was,  in  order  to  harass 
it  the  better,  and  pitch  camp  on  the  shores  at  Baptiste 
Meloche's^'^,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  the  Fort.  This  was 
done  promptly. 

He  divided  his  men  into  several  bands  to  attack  in  dif- 
ferent places;  one  band  went  half  a  mile  back  from  the 
Fort,  where  an  old  English  woman^^  lived  with  her  two 
sons  who  cultivated  for  themselves  seven  or  eight  acres 
of  land  and  kept  a  good  deal  of  cattle,  such  as  oxen  and 
cows.  These  poor  people,  suspecting  nothing,  were  killed, 
scalped,  their  property  plundered,  and  their  house  set  on 
fire.  It  was  a  terrible  spectacle  to  see  how  the  fire  took 
sides  with  the  Indians;  the  dead  bodies  were  burned  up  in 
the  house.  The  Indians  killed  a  part  of  the  cattle  and  drove 
off  fhe  rest,  some  of  which  escaped  into  the  woods  and 
were  later  found  by  the  French  settlers  along  the  shore. 

While  this  first  band  were  engaged  in  their  work  of 
carnage,  the  other  band  went  to  Hog  Island^^  where  there 
lived  a  man  named  Fisher^^,  former  sergeant  of  the  Eng- 


'^^The   Commandant,    etc.      Marginal   note   in   original. 

^"Most  of  the  French  lived  along  the  river  on  their  ribbon  farms,  their  houses 
facing  the  water.  At  the  beginning  of  the  siege  they  passed  in  and  out  of  the 
fort  and  held  a  neutral  position.  As  the  siege  progressed  the  Indians  demanded 
their  support  and  tool:  their  provisions  and  supplies  by  force.  This  caused  many 
of  the  French  to  retire  within  the  fort  while  others  took  up  the  Indian  cause. 

^"Jean  Baptiste  ?iIeloche  lived  on  the  northeast  coast  near  the  creek  now  called 
Bloody  Run,  where  he  operated  a  gristmill  on  the  Hunt  Farm  (P.  C.  182  Maurice 
Moran  claim)  near  the  river  on  the  present  site  of  the  Michigan  Stove  Works. 
He  was  born  at  Detroit,  Feb.  19,  1741,  and  married  Mary  Louise  Robert,  Nov.  11, 
1760.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Anthony  Robert  and  lived  on  the  south  coast  of 
the   river. 

2iThis   old    English   woman   was    Mrs.    Turnbull    who  lived   on   a   distant   part   of 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION    d'uNE   CONSPIRATION  57 

retourne  a  Son  village,  Bien  mal  content,  ce  qui  importait 
fort  peu  a  Ses  Messieurs.  Deux  sont  entres  et  sont  sortis 
Mr.  Le  C.  fait  avertir  les  frangais  de  se  tenir  chez  eux. 

Pondiak  enrage  devoir  que  le  dernier  Stratageme  avait 
manque  et  que  tons  pro  jets  etaient  echoue,  en  entrant  dans 
son  village,  pris  un  casse  teste  a  la  main  et  chanta  La 
guerre,   disant   que   puisqu'il   ne   pouvait   pas    frape  dans 
Lefort   sur  Les   anglais   qu'il    falait    frape   Sur   ceux  qui 
etaient  dehors  le   fort,   et  ordonna  que  tons   son  monde, 
hommes,   femmes  et  enfans,  traversassent  La  riviere  sur 
Le  mesme  coste  que  Le  fort,  pour  etre  plus  a  porte  de 
Linquieter  Et  que  Lon  dressa  son  Camp  dans  La  riviere  a 
Mr.  Baptiste  Meloche  a  une  demie  Lieux  au  dessus  du  fort, 
ce    qui   fut    fait  ponctuellement,    il   divisa    Ses    gens  en 
plusieurs   Bandes  pour  frape  En  differents  endroits,  une 
Bande    fut    frape    a    douze    arpents    derriere    Le    fort    ou 
demeuroient   une   vielle   anglaise   avec    Ses    deux   gargons 
qui  faisaient  valloir  Environ  sept  ou  huit  arpens  de  terre 
a  leurs  compte  et  qui  avaient  Beaucoup  de  Beste  a  corn, 
Comme  boeufs  et  vaches,  les  pauvres  gens  qui  ne  pensaient 
a  rien  furent  tue,  Leurs  chevelure  Leve,  Leurs  butin  pille, 
Le  maison  mis  en  feux,   a  voir  ce  terrible  spectacle  que 
Le   feu  etait  de  la  partie  avec  Les   Sauvages,   Les  corps 
mort  furent  a  demi  Brule  dans  La  maison,  Les  Sauvages 
tuerent  une  partie  des  animaux  et  emmenerent  Le  reste 
dont    quelqu'un   S'echaperent    dans  Les    bois   et    furent 
ramasse  par  des  habitants  dans  Les  Costes.  , 

Pendant  que  ces  premiers   fesaient  le  carnage   L'autre 
Bande    fut   dans   L'isle   au   cochon   ou   etaient   etabli   un 


the  Common.  Maj.  Gladwin  had  granted  her  a  piece  of  land  for  her  residence. 
The   Indians  ate  her  body.      Lanman's  History    of   Michigan,   p.    io6. 

22Belle  Isle. 

^^James  Fisher,  his  wife  and  two  children,  and  some  accounts  say  four  sol- 
diers and  a  servant,  were  living  on  the  island.  They  were  surprised  and  mur- 
dered. Some  Frenchmen  obtained  permission  to  go  to  the  island  and  bury  the 
bodies,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher  were  buried  in  the  same  grave.  The  story  runs 
that  on  the  following  day  the  Frenchmen  crossed  again  and  on  passing  the  grave 
saw  Fisher's  hand  sticking  out.  They  buried  it  and  in  a  few  days  found  it 
again  out.  Upon  this  they  informed  the  Priest,  Father  Simple  Bocquet,  who 
returned  with  them  to  the  island  and  re-interred  the  hand.  This  time  it  re- 
mained covered.  Mr.  Peltier's  account  of  the  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  Mich. 
Pion.    and    Hist.    Colls.,    Vol.    VIII. 


58  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

lish  army.  This  man  with  his  family  of  five  or  six  persons 
was  working  for  half  the  profit  a  little  farm  which  the 
English  officers  had  appropriated  for  themselves.  These 
good  people,  thinking  of  nothing  but  their  work,  became 
at  a  moment  when  they  least  expected  it  victims  of  the  fury 
of  the  Indians  who  fell  upon  the  man  and  scalped  him; 
they  wanted  to  carry  his  wife  away  prisoner  because  she 
was  pretty,  but  she  would  not  go,  saying  that  since  her 
husband  was  dead  she  wished  to  die  with  him.  They  killed 
her  and  her  woman  servant,  and  carried  off  the  two  little 
children  to  their  village  to  be  slaves^^. 

A  Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Goslin^^  who  was  working 
on  the  island  squaring  building  timbers  had  not  been  in- 
formed of  what  was  about  to  happen  to  Fisher.  Upon  hear- 
ing the  cries  of  the  Indians  as  they  landed  on  the  island, 
he  thought  to  save  himself  from  the  danger  which  seemed 
to  threaten  him  as  much  as  the  English;  he  was  caught 
upon  the  beach  by  the  Indians  who  put  him  in  a  canoe 
and  told  him  to  stay  there,  saying  that  he  had  nothing  to 
fear  for  himself  as  they  did  not  intend  to  do  him  any  harm. 
He  did  not  believe  it  nor  want  to  stay  v/here  they  had  put 
him.  His  unbelief  cost  him  dear,  for,  upon  trying  to 
escape  into  the  depths  of  the  island,  the  Indians  took  him 
for  some  fleeing  Englishman;  they  ran  after  him  and 
killed  him,  and  when  they  were  upon  the  point  of  scalping 
him  they  recognized  that  it  was  a  Frenchman.  They  placed 
him  in  their  canoe  and  gave  him  to  the  French  who  buried 
him  in  the  cemetery. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  an  inhabitant  of 
the  east  shore,  Mr.  Desnoyers-^,  who  had  gone  to  the  pine 
woods  sixty  miles  above  the  fort  to  fell  building  timber, 
returned  with  the  Chippewas  of  Saginaw  who  escorted  him. 


-^The  Fisher  children  were  later  given  over  to  Mr.  Peltier  who  took  them  to 
their  uncle  in  the  fort.  On  Oct.  15,  1763,  one  of  these  children,  Marie  Fisher 
(Ficher),  aged  about  fifteen  months,  died.  Ste.  Anne's  Chnrch  Records,  Detroit. 
According  to  records  in  the  Register's  Office  of  Detroit,  Vol.  A,  p.  gi,  Alexis 
Cuillerier,  Son  of  Antoine,  shortly  after  the  war  was  over,  was  accused  by  one 
Jean  Myer,  of  having  drowned  one  of  the  Fisher  children.  He  was  tried  by  a 
military  tribunal  at  Detroit,  and  the  commandant  expelled  him  from  the  village 
and    banished    him    from    the    community.      Later    developments    ended    in    a    new 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  59 

nomme  ficher,  ancien  sergent  des  troupes  anglaises.  Cette 
homme  avec  sa  famille  qui  composait  cinq  a  Six  personnes 
faisaient  valoir  a  motier  profit  un  bien  que  ses  messieurs 
setaient  aproprie,  les  bonnes  gens  qui  ne  pensoient  qu'a 
Leurs  travaille,  devinrent  a  I'heure  qu'ils  y  pensoient  Le 
moins  Les  tristes  victimes  de  la  fureur  des  sauvages  qui 
tomberent  en  premier  sur  L'homme  Lui  Leverent  La 
chevelure,  Et  voulurent  emmene  sa  femme  prisonniere 
parce  qu'elle  etait  jolie,  elle  ne  voullu  Les  suivre  disant 
que  puisque  Son  mari  etait  mort  quelle  voulait  mourir 
avec  Luy,  ils  Latuerent  avec  Sa  Servante  Et  emmenerent 
ses  deux  petits  enlants  a  leur  Camp  pour  etre  Leurs  esclave. 
Un  frangais  nomme  Goslin  qui  travaillait  dans  Lisle  a 
Ecarir  du  bois  de  Construction  et  qui  n'etait  pas  prevenu 
de  ce  qui  devait  arrive  a  ficher,  En  attendant  Les  Cris 
que  fesaient  les  sauvages  en  debarquant  dans  Lisle,  voullii 
Se  Sauve  du  danger  qui  semblait  Le  menace,  egalement 
comme  les  anglais  fut  arreste  sur  le  bord  de  la  greve 
par  Les  Sauvages  qui  le  niirent  dans  un  Canot  et  lui  dirent 
de  rester  qu'il  n'y  avait  rien  a  craindre  pour  Luy  qu'ils 
ne  voulloient  pas  Luy  faire  du  mal,  il  fut  incredule  et  ne 
voulu  point  reste  ou  Les  Sauvages  Lavaient  mis,  son  in- 
credulite  Luy  couta  chere  parce  que  voulant  se  sauver  dans 
La  profondeur  de  Lisle  Les  Sauvages  Le  prirent  pour  un 
anglais  qui  Se  Sauvait,  Coururent  apres  et  Le  tuerent  et 
quand  ils  furent  pour  Lui  Leve  la  chevelure,  ils  recon- 
nurent  que  c'etait  un  francais,  L'embarquerent  Dans  Leurs 
canots  et  Le  donnerent  aux  franqais  qui  L'enterrerent  dans 
le  Cimetiere. 

Sur  les  quatre  heures  apres  midy,  un  habitant  de 
la  Coste  de  L'Est  nomme  Mr.  Desnoyers  qui  etaient 
alle  a  la  piniere  a  vingt  cing  Lieux  audessus  du  fort  pour 


investigation  which  cleared  Cuillerier  of  the  crime  and  on  June  i,  1769,  Capt. 
George  Turnbull  had  him  recalled.  This  was  not  done  until  all  the  facts  had 
been   laid  before   Gen.    Gage   and   his   consent   had   been   obtained. 

-^This  was  Francois  Goslin,  who  came  from  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas,  diocese 
cf  Quebec.     He  was  about  thirty  years  old.     Ste.  Acme's  Church  Records,  Detroit. 

2"Peter  Desnoyers  was  a  master  carpenter  and  lived  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  at  one  time  near  the  Otta-wa  village  and  at  another  near  the  Huron  village. 


60  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

Through  him  one  learned  of  the  death  of  two  officers,  one 
of  whom  was  Mr.  Robinson^^,  ship  captain,  the  other  a 
Sir  Knight^^  and  colonel  of  militia.  These  two  gentle- 
men, acting  under  orders  of  the  Commandant,  had  gone 
with  ten  soldiers  and  a  Pawnee  servant  to  sound  the  chan- 
nels to  see  if  there  was  enough  water  for  a  vessel  to  pass 
in  case  of  need.  When  they  left  the  Fort  they  had  heard 
nothing  about  the  wicked  designs  of  the  Indians  and  they 
travelled  peacefully  along,  thinking  themselves  quite  safe. 
As  they  were  passing  to  the  right  of  the  pine  woods  the 
Frenchmen  who  were  working  there  and  had  been  warned 
of  the  evil  intentions  of  the  Indians  toward  the  English 
called  to  them  to  put  them  on  their  guard.  They  turned  in 
but  would  not  believe  what  the  French  told  them,  saying 
that  when  they  left  the  Fort  everything  was  quiet.  The 
Frenchmen  warned  them  again  and  again  and  advised  them 
not  to  go  further,  as  the  Indians  would  prevent  them  and 
they  would  better  return  to  the  Fort,  but  they  would  not 
listen  to  the  warnings  and  went  on  their  way.  They  en- 
countered some  Indians  encamped  upon  a  point  at  the  edge 
of  the  river,  and  these  seeing  them  pass  called  to  them  and 
showed  them  some  meat  and  other  supplies  to  entice  them. 
Still  they  would  not  halt  there  and  this  offended  the  In- 
dians w^ho  pursued  and  killed  them,  with  the  exception  of 
a  young  man^^  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old  and  the  Pawnee, 
whom  they  took  to  make  slaves  of. 

^'This  name  appears  as  Robinson,  Robson  and  Robertson.  Rutherford  in  his 
narrative  calls  him  Capt.  Charles  Robson  of  the  77th,  who  had  command  of  the 
King's  ships  upon   Lake  Erie. 

IV.  C.  Ford,  in  his  list  of  British  Officers  serving  in  America  in  1754-^774,  gives 
Lieut.  Charles  Robertson  of  the  77th  (or  Montgomery's  Highlanders),  who  was 
commissioned    Sept.    15,    1758. 

Canadian  Archives  A.  17,  p.  116,  states  that  Lieut.  Robertson,  of  Montgomery's 
regiment,  was  to  command  a  schooner  drawing  seven  feet,  loaded  and  carrying 
six   guns.    1761. 

In  1761,  Sir  William  Johnson  mentions  seeing  Capt.  Robinson  sounding  in  Ni- 
agara River.  In  1762  Robertson  came  to  Detroit,  where  he  was  employed  sound- 
ing the  lake  and  river.  Here  he  is  also  called  Robinson.  Both  Robertson  and 
Brehm  sent  in  reports  of  their  soundings.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1763,  Robert- 
son made  up  a  party,  consisting  of  John  Rutherford  (a  boy  of  seventeen),  Sir 
Robert  Davers,  who  joined  the  party  out  of  curiosity,  a  Pawnee  slave,  two 
sailors  and  six  soldiers.  They  left  Detroit  on  May  2nd.  before  any  Indian  troub- 
les were  discovered,  to  sound  the  lake  and  St.  Clair  River.  They  were  over- 
taken by  Indians  on  the  6th.  Robertson  and  DaverS  were  killed  and  Rutherford 
made  captive.  Rutherford's  Narrative,  Trans.  Canad.  Inst.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  22g; 
Mich.    Pion.    and   Hist.    Colls.,    Vol.    XIX,   p.    165;   Johnson's   Life    by   Stone. 

^^Sir  Robert  Davers  was  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Jermyn  Davers,  of  Suffolk,  who 
died  Jan.  22,  1743,  leaving  Sir  Robert  the  head  of  the  family.  He  lived  at  Ross- 
brooke  or  Rushbrook  in  SufTolk.  He  traveled  all  over  Europe  and  became  inter- 
ested in  the  lakes  of  America,  making  Detroit  a  visit  in  Feb.,  1762.  Donald 
Campbell  wrote  in   one   of  his  letters   to   Bouquet  that  he  had   arrived  in   Detroit 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  61 

couper  du  bois  de  batisse,  revint  avec  les  sauteurs  du  Sagi- 
naw qui  L'amenerent  L'on  Sgu  par  Luy  La  mort  de  deux 
officiers  qui  etaient  L'un  Mr.  Robinson,  capitaine  des 
barques  et  I'autre  Mr.  Le  Chevalier,  Colonelle  de  milice. 
Ses  deux  Mrs.  avaient  ete  par  ordre  de  Mr.  le  Com- 
mandant avec  dix  Soldats  et  un  panis  pour  Sonder  Les 
cheneaux  pour  voir  S'il  y  aurait  assez  d'eau  pour  passer  un 
barque  en  cas  de  besoin,  ces  messieurs  qui  en  partant  du 
fort  n'avoient  nullement  entendu  parle  du  mauvais  dessein 
des  Sauvages,  voyois  tranquillement  Se  croyant  Bien  sure, 
comme  ils  passoient  au  droit  de  la  piniere,  Les  frangais 
qui  y  travailloient  et  qui  etaient  prevenus  de  la  mauvaise 
intention  des  Sauvages  contre  L'anglois  les  appellerent 
pour  les  avertir,  ces  messieurs  y  furent  mais  ils  ne  voul- 
lurent  point  croire  ce  que  Les  frangais  Leur  disaient,  disant 
aux  frangais  que  quand  ils  etaient  partis  du  fort  tout 
etaient  Bien  tranquil,  Les  frangais  Les  avertir  encore  de 
rechef,  et  Leurs  conseillaient  de  ne  pas  aller  plus  Loing 
que  Les  sauvages  Les  defferaient  et  qu'ils  feroient  mieux 
de  s'en  retourne  au  fort,  ils  ne  voullurent  point  ecoute  Les 
avertissements,  prirent  Leurs  routes  pour  aller  plus  Loing, 
ils  rencontrerent  des  sauvages  qui  etaient  Campe  Sur  une 
pointe  Sur  le  Bord  de  la  riviere  qui  Les  voyant  passe  Les 
appelerent  Leurs  montrant  de  la  viande  et  autre  denree  pour 
Les  amorce.  Ses  messieurs  ny  voullurent  point  alle,  ce  qui 
choqua    Les    Sauvages    qui    coururent    apres    eux    et   Les 

and  intended  spending  the  winter  there  and  making  a  tour  of  the  lakes  in  the 
spring.  Alexander  Henry  mentions  him  in  his  travels.  Davers  spent  the  win- 
ter of  1762-3  at  Detroit  and  early  in  May  met  his  death  while  out  with  Robert- 
son and  Rutherford.  Burke's  Extinct  and  Dormant  Baronetcies ;  Wis.  Hist, 
Colls.,    Vol.  XVIII,  p.   250;  Mich.  Pion.   and  Hist.   Colls.,   Vol.  XIX. 

^^Lieut.  John  Rutherford,  of  the  42nd  or  Blackwatch,  was  born  in  Scarborough, 
Yorkshire,  in  1746.  His  father  died  in  the  Barbadoes  when  he  was  an  infant 
and  he  was  reared  by  his  grandfather,  Sir  John  Rutherford,  in  Scotland.  He 
came  to  America  at  an  early  day  and  was  sent  by  his  uncle,  Walter  Rutherford, 
to  Fort  Detroit,  in  charge  ot  some  military  stores  and  supplies.  He  joined  the 
party  with  Lieut.  Robertson  and  Davers  and  was  the  only  survivor  of  the  trip 
who  gave  any  account  of  it.  After  being  attacked  by  the  Indians,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  May  6th,  and  becavise  of  his  youth,  was  adopted  into  the  family  of  a 
Chippewa  Chief,  Perwash.  His  life  was  thus  spared  and  by  his  good  behavior 
he  was  soon  allowed  much  freedom.  After  the  killing  of  Campbell  he  made  his 
escape,  with  the  assistance  of  a  Frenchman,  Boileau.  During  his  captivity  he 
saw  Paully,  Campbell  and  McDougall.  He  was  befriended  by  the  family  of 
Quilleim  (Cuillerier).  Ten  days  after  his  return  to  the  fort  he  took  charge  of  a 
vessel  wh'ch  was  to  sail  to  Niagara  for  provisions.  On  the  way  the  vessel  sprung 
a  leak  and  they  found  it  necessary  to  go  ashore  where  they  were  molested  by 
the  Indians.  They  were  finally  able  to  reach  Niagara  and  there  Rutherford  re- 
solved to  give  up  the  fortunes  of  war.  He  lived  in  New  York  with  his  uncle 
for  a  while  and  then  joined  the  42nd  in  which  he  served  thirty  years.  He  died 
at  Jedburgh,  Jan.  12,  1830,  aged  eighty-four  years.  Rutherford's  Narrative 
Trans.  Canad.  Inst.,   Vol.  Ill,  pp.  229-252;  Buffalo  Hist.  Soc.  Publ.,  VI.  p.  i«. 


63  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

The  two  Ottawa  bands  who  had  made  the  attack  in  the 
two  places  I  have  described,  acting  under  the  orders  ot 
Pontiac,  their  chief,  came  back  to  camp  after  their  exploit 
and  related  with  gusto  all  the  circumstances  of  their  cruel 
expedition,  among  other  things  the  death  of  Goslin^''  whom 
they  had  killed  by  mistake, — a  thing  that  saddened  them 
for  some  time. 

After  hearing  this  story  from  his  young  men,  Pontiac 
called  all  of  his  followers  together  before  him  in  order  to 
take  new  measures  to  approach  the  Fort  and  attack  it 
without  risk  to  them.  This  was  not  very  difficult  to  do, 
seeing  that  there  were  several  barns  and  stables  sixty-five 
yards  to  the  rear  of  the  Fort;  they  belonged  to  several 
private  individuals  who  lived  in  the  Fort. 

To  the  northeast,  at  the  right  of  the  gate,  about  a  hun- 
dred feet  away,  was  a  big  garden  with  the  gardener's 
house, — the  whole  property  belonging  to  Mr.  La  Butte,  the 
interpreter.  All  these  buildings  were  so  many  intrench- 
ments  in  the  shelter  of  which  the  Indians  could  approach 
the  Fort  witiiout  any  danger ;  they  had  discovered  this  and 
had  made  use  of  the  buildings  for  some  time  to  annoy  the 
Fort.  After  these  new  measures  were  taken  the  Indians 
rested,  waiting  for  the  next  day  in  order  to  begin  their 
attack  in  a  new  way. 

While  the  Indians  were  making  their  arrangements  to 
harass  the  Fort,  the  Commandant  ordered  the  two  gates 
at  each  end  to  be  closed,  not  to  be  opened  again  till  the  end 
of  this  war,  but  the  one  which  faced  the  southwest  Avas 
opened  twice  more  to  permit  the  cows  which  belonged  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Fort  to  enter,  and  then  it  was  also 
closed.  The  only  one  left  was  the  one  facing  the  river 
which  was  opened  from  time  to  time  for  the  public  needs, 
because  it  was  guarded  by  the  sloops  which  the  Indians 
feared  greatly. 

On  toward  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  Mr.  La  Butte  went 


^"Goslin.     See  note  25. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  63 

tuerent,  a  la  reserve  d'un  jeune  homme  de  qtiinze  a  Seize 
ans  et  d'un  panis  qu'ils  prirent  pour  en  faire  Leurs  esclave. 

Les  deux  Bandes  de  Sauvages  outavois  qui  suivant  Les 
ordres  de  pondiak  leurs  chefs  avoient  ete  frape  aux  deux 
endroits  dont  Jay  parle  cy  dessus,  revinrent  au  Camp  apres 
Le  coup  fait  et  raconterent  avec  emphase  toute  Les  Cir- 
contance  de  Leurs  cruelle  expedition  et  entre  autre  La 
mort  de  Goslin  qu'ils  avaient  tue  par  megard  ce  qui  les 
attrista  pour  quelque  moment. 

Pondiak  apres  Le  recit  de  ses  Jeunes  gens  fit  assemble 
tous  son  monde  autour  de  Luy  pour  prendre  avec  lui  de 
nouvelles  mesures  pour  approche  du  fort  et  L'attaquer  Sans 
risque  pour  eux,  ce  qui  n'etait  pas  Beaucoup  difficile  a 
faire  viie,  que  il  y  avait  plusieurs  grange,  Ecurie,  Batis  a 
un  arpent  derriere  Lefort,  qui  appartenoient  a  plusieurs 
particuliers  qui  demeuroient  dans  Lefort  du  Cote  du  Nord- 
Es-du  fort  au  droit  de  la  porte,  environ  a  un  demie  arpent 
etait  un  grand  Jardin  avec  La  maison  du  Jardinier,  Le 
tout  appartenant  a  Mr.  Labutte,  L'interprette,  tous  les 
batiments  etaient  autant  de  retranchements  a  Labry  des- 
quels  Les  Sauvages  pouvaient  aproche  du  fort  Sans  aucun- 
dange  ce  qu'ils  avoient  bien  examine  et  qui  Leurs  servient 
quelque  temps  a  bien  inquiete  Lefort,  ces  dernieres  dimen- 
tions  prisent  chaque  Sauvage  Se  reposa  en  attendant,  Le 
Lendemain  pour  recommencer  sur  de  nouveau  frais. 

Pendant  Le  temps  que  Les  Sauvages  prenoient  Leurs 
arrangements  pour  inquieter  Lefort,  Mr.  Le  Commandant 
ordonna  que  Les  deux  portes  des  deux  Bouts  fussent  ferme 
et  condamne  pour  n'estre  plus  ouverte  que  a  La  finition 
de  Cette  guerre,  cependant  celle  qui  fait  face  au  Sorouest 
fut  encore  ouverte  deux  fois  pour  faire  entre  des  vaches 
qui  appartenoit  a  des  domicilie  du  fort  et  elle  n'ouvrit  plus, 
il  n'y  eut  que  celle  qui  face  a  la  riviere  qui  fut  ouverte 
de  temps  en  temps  pour  Les  Besoins  public  parce  qu'elle 
etait  garde  par  Les  Barque,  que  les  Sauvages  craignaient 
Beaucoup. 

Vers  six  heures  du  soir  Mr.  La  Butte  fit  plusieurs  Sorties 


64  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

out  several  times  by  order  of  the  Commandant  to  placate 
the  Indians  and  try  to  pump  their  secrets  out  of  them.  But 
the  Indians,  and  Pontiac  in  particular,  grew  tired  of  his 
visits  and  told  him  to  go  back  to  the  Fort  and  stay  there 
or  they  would  all  fall  upon  him.  Seeing  that  nothing  could 
be  gained  he  went  back  to  the  Fort,  letting  the  English 
hope  that  the  Indians  would  be  more  easy  to  deal  with  the 
next  day. 

In  the  evening  at  general  orders  the  Commandant  an- 
nounced that  all  the  English  in  the  Fort,  traders  and  sol- 
diers, should  relieve  one  another  at  guard  duty  every  six 
hours  on  the  ramparts  all  night  so  as  not  to  be  surprised 
in  case  of  attack  at  daybreak,  which  is  the  hour  the  Indians 
usually  attack  when  they  are  carrying  on  war.  The  Com- 
mandant himself  set  the  example  and  spent  the  night  stand- 
ing sentinel  with  his  ojfficers  upon  the  battery. 

May  10.     Tuesday. 

Following  the  Commandant's  orders  the  gates  remained 
closed.  The  Ottawas  who  believed  that  they  had  only  to 
assail  the  Fort  and  the  English  would  surrender  at  their 
discretion,  opened  a  very  violent  fire  about  four  o'clock  and 
made  the  circuit  of  the  Fort  as  if  they  wanted  to  assault 
it.  This  frightened  the  English  a  little  who  were  not  as 
yet  accustomed  to  the  maneuvers  of  the  Indians  and  had 
had  no  time  to  make  any  preparations  for  defense.  There 
were,  however,  in  the  Fort  three  pieces  of  cannon, — two 
six-pounders  and  one  three-pounder,  also  three  small  mor- 
tars which  were  placed  over  the  gate  and  were  as  good  as 
useless.  The  three-pounder  was  mounted  upon  the  battery 
which  faced  the  forest  in  the  rear  of  the  Fort  and  was 
almost  masked  by  the  buildings  beyond;  the  other  two 
pieces  were  upon  the  drill-ground  and  of  no  value,  since 
there  was  no  suitable  place  to  mount  them  for  firing.  There 
were  in  addition  only  the  two  sloops  which  could  fire,  and 
these  at  the  most  protected  only  the  river  front  which  the 
Indians  were  careful  not  to  approach ;  they  kept  themselves 
constantly  behind  the  Fort  under  cover  of  the  buildings 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  65 

par  ordre  de  Mr.  Le  Commandant  pour  apaiser  Les  Sau- 
vages  et  pour  tacher  de  Leurs  avoir  Leurs  secrets  en  Leurs 
tirant  Les  vers  du  ne,  mais  Les  Sauvages  et  surtout  pon- 
diak  Se  lassa  de  ses  alle  et  de  ses  venu  Lui  dit  de 
se  retirer  et  de  ne  plus  venir  ou  qu'il  fraperoient  tous 
Sur  Luy,  ne  pouvant  rien  gagne,  il  se  retira  dans 
Le  fort  faisant  espere  a  Ses  Messieurs  que  Le  Landemain 
Les  Sauvages  Seroient  plus  facille  a  parle,  i\Ir.  Le  Com- 
mandant ordonna  Le  Soir,  a  Lordre  que  tous  Les  anglois 
qui  etoient  dans  Le  fort,  Commergant  et  La  troupe  feroient 
quart  toute  la  nuit  sur  Les  ramparts  pour  n'estre  pas  Sur- 
pris  en  cas  d'attaque.  A  la  pointe  du  jour  qui  est  un 
heure  a  laquelle  Les  Sauvages  frape  ordinairement  quand 
il  vont  en  guerre,  Le  Commandant  montra  exemple  et  passa 
La  nuit  Sur  La  Battrie  et  faisant  faction  avec  ses  officiers. 
lOieme  May. — Le  Mardy,  lOeme  de  May,  suivant  Les 
ordres  de  Mr.  Le  Commandant  Les  portes  resterent 
fermees.  Les  Sauvages  outavois  qui  croyois  que  venant 
assailir  Lefort,  Ses  messieurs  se  rendroient  a  Leurs  dis- 
cretions, vinrent  sur  Les  quatre  heures  du  matin  faire  un 
feu  des  plus  viollent  et  faire  des  Courses  autour  du  fort, 
Comme  S'ils  eussent  voullii  monter  a  Lassaut,  ce  qui  in- 
timida  un  peu  Ses  Messieurs  qui  n'etoient  pas  encore 
affaite  de  La  manoeuvre  des  Sauvages  Et  qui  n'avaient  pas 
eu  Le  temps  de  rien  preparer  pour  la  deffendre  II  y  avait 
cependant  dans  Le  fort  trois  pieces  de  canon,  deux  pieces 
de  fil  et  une  de  trois  et  trois  mortiers  a  grenades  royalles 
qui  etaient  place  au  dessus  de  la  porte  comme  des  meubles 
inutiles.  La  piece  de  trois  etait  monte  sur  La  Batterie  dans 
Le  derriere  du  fort  qui  faisoient  face  aux  bois  et  qui  etait 
presque  masque  par  Les  Batimens  qui  etoient  derriere  Le- 
fort, Les  deux  autres  pieces  etoient  Sur  La  place  d'armes 
Comme  inutile  n'ayant  point  de  lieux  propre  a  Les  mettre 
pour  Battre,  il  niavoient  que  Les  deux  Barques  qui  battoient 
et  qui  toute  fois  en  deffendoient  que  Laface  de  la  riviere, 
ou  Les  Sauvages  se  donnais  Bien  de  garde  d'approche  se 
tenant  tou jours  derriere  Lefort  a  couvert  des  Batimens  et 


66  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

and  in  the  clearing  of  a  bluff  which  commanded  the  Fort, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  Fort  was  built,  so  that  the 
place  was  defended  rather  by  the  courage  and  intrepidity 
of  the  besieged  than  vanquished  by  the  besiegers  who  kept 
up  their  fire  only  until  about  ten  o'clock.  They  were  con- 
tent to  shoot  from  a  distance  because  they  had  not  much 
ammunition,  hoping  when  they  had  got  hold  of  some  to 
begin  the  onslaught  again. 

The  Commandant,  seeing  that  the  fire  of  the  Indians 
had  nearly  ceased,  ordered  Mr.  La  Butte  to  go  out  and 
talk  to  them.  Mr.  Chapoton^^  who  lived  in  the  Fort  joined 
Mr.  La  Butte  to  go  to  the  camp  of  the  Indians.  With  the 
Commandant's  permission  several  other  residents  of  the 
Fort  seized  this  occasion  to  retire  to  the  settlers  along  the 
shores,  giving  as  an  excuse  that  they  did  not  want  to  wit- 
ness the  death  of  the  English. 

La  Butte  and  Chapoton  set  out  and  on  the  way  took 
Jacques  Godfroy""  who  did  not  object  to  going  with  them 
inasmuch  as  it  was  for  the  security  of  the  public,  hoping 
that  three  persons  whom  the  Indians  knew  and  loved  would 
placate  them  the  more  easily.  The  latter  two  of  these  three 
gentlemen  talked  with  the  Indians  without  showing  that 
they  represented  the  interests  of  the  English^^.  They  were 
listened  to  very  well,  or  well,  at  least,  to  all  appearances, 
which  led  Mr.  La  Butte  to  believe  that  all  would  turn  out 
right.  Leaving  Messrs.  Godfroy  and  Chapoton  with  the 
Indians,  he  returned  to  the  Fort  to  tell  the  Commandant 
that  matters  were  going  well  and  that  he  had  left  Godfroy 
and  Chapoton  with  the  Indians  to  continue  the  parley.     He 


^^Dr.  Jean  Chapoton,  who  came  to  Detroit  as  early  as  1719  to  serve  as  official 
surgeon  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Pontchartrain,  had  two  sons  living  at  the  time 
of  the  siege — Jean  Baptiste,  who  was  born  June  17,  1731,  and  Anthony  Alexis, 
born  June  13,  1744.  Jean  Baptiste  was  a  captain  of  militia  and  a  man  of  some 
importance  in  the  village,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  it  was  he  who  joined 
the   interpreter   upon   this    errand. 

^-Jacques  Godfroy  was  a  trader  and  officer  of  the  militia.  He  had  married  a 
sister  of  Chapoton,  (Marie)  Louise  Clotilde,  in  17.58.  His  first  wife  was  Frances 
L'Eyeille,  an  Indian  woman.  His  second  wife  died  Sept.  18,  1762,  and  in  rec- 
ognition of  his  valtTable  services  as  interpreter  for  the  Indians,  he  received,  ac- 
cording to  the  Indian  fashion,  the  favorite  daughter  of  a  Miami  chief,  as  his 
third  wife.  He  resided  in  the  village  of  Detroit  until  the  summer  of  1761,  when 
he  moved  to  his  farm  on  the  northeast  coast.  During  Pontiac's  siege  he  openly 
took  the  side  of  the  Indians,  capturing  a  tracer  and  aiding  in  the  taking  of 
Fort    !\Iiami.      As    he    had    taken    the    oath    of    allegiance    to    the    British    crown, 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  67 

dans  Laclerriere  d'un  Coteau  qui  Commandait  Lefort  et 
au  pied  duquel  Lefort  etait  Batis,  de  sorte  que  Laplace 
etait  plustot  deffendu  par  Le  Courage  et  L'intrepidite  des 
assiege  qu'il  n'etait  Battue  par  Les  assiegeans  qui  ne  firent 
dure  La  force  de  Leurs  feux  que  jusque  vers  dix  heures, 
tout  au  plus  se  contentant  de  tire  de  Loing  en  Loing  parce 
qu'ils  n'avoient  pas  beaucoup  d'amunitions,  esperant 
qu'apres  en  avoir  decouvert,  recommence  La  charge. 

Mr.  Le  Commandant  voyant  que  le  feu  des  Sauvages 
etoient  presque  eteint  ordonna  a  ]\Ir.  La  Butte  de  sortir 
pour  Leur  parle,  Mr.  Chapoton  domicilie  du  fort  Se 
jorgnit  a  Mr.  La  Butte  et  sortir  pour  aller  au  Camp  des 
sauvages,  plusieurs  domicilies  Se  saisirent  de  cette  occasion 
avec  L'opprobation  de  Mr.  Le  Commandant  pour  se  retirer 
dans  Les  Cotes  chez  Les  habitans  pour  n'estre  pas  Spec- 
tateur  de  la  pretendue  mort  de  ses  Messieurs,  Mrs.  La 
Butte  et  Chapoton  poursuivent  Leurs  routes  et  Siir  Leurs 
chemin  prirent  Mr.  Jacques  Godfroy,  qui  ne  fit  point  de 
difficuite  de  ce  joindre  a  eux,  vu  que  c'etait  pour  La  tran- 
quillite  du  public,  Esperant  que  trois  personnes  qui  etoient 
connfient  et  aimee  des  Sauvages  Les  appaiseroient  plus  aise- 
ment.  Les  deux  derniers  de  ces  trois  Messieurs  parlerent 
aux  sauvages  sans  faire  connaitre  qu'ils  prenoient  Les  in- 
terest de  ses  Messieurs,  Les  anglois,  ils  furent  asse  Bien 
ecoute  ou  du  moins  en  apparance  ce  qui  fit  croire  a  Mr. 
La  Butte  que  tout  irait  Bien  par  La  Suite  et  qui  Laissant 
Mrs.  Godfroy  et  Chapoton  avec  Les  sauvages,  revint  au 
fort  dire  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  que  Les  affaires  avec 
Les  sauvages  etaient  en  Bon  train,  qu'il  avait  Laisse  Mrs. 
Godfroy  et  Chapoton  aupres  des  sauvages  pour  continuer 

in  1760  he  was  arrested  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  for  treason.  Bradstreet 
pardoned  him  on  condii^ion  that  he  would  conduct  Capt.  Morris  safely  to  and  from 
the  Illinois  country,  being  his  guide  and  interpreter.  After  returning  to  Detroit 
he  continued  to  live  there  and  was  greatly  esteemed.  lie  became  one  of  the 
wealthiest  of  the  French  colonists.  His  son  fought  under  George  Rogers  Clark 
during  the  Revolution.  Early  Western  Travels  by  Thwaites,  Vol  I,  p.  302;  Den- 
nisen's   Genealogies,   MMS. 

^^The  French  were  supposed  to  be  nentral  in  this  war,  but  many  of  them  were 
forced  to  take  a  stand.  La  Butte,  as  interpreter,  maintained  his  position  as 
long  as  possible,  but  was  finally  compelled  to  seek  protection  in  the  fort.  Jacques 
Godfroy  openly  assisted  the  Indians.  See  Declaration  of  Caesar  Cormick,  made 
Jtily  II,  1763,  Mich.  Pion.  Colls.,   Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  632-3. 


68  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

hoped  that  the  English  would  get  out  of  the  difficulty  at 
the  cost  of  some  presents.  Mr.  La  Butte  thought  he  knew 
the  Indian  mind  and  did  not  perceive  that  he  was  mistaken 
in  his  expectations,  and  that  the  Indians,  Pontiac  in  par- 
ticular, knew  how  to  conceal  their  real  intentions  with  fine 
words. 

Mr.  Campbell,  second  in  command,  who  desired  and 
loved  nothing  so  much  as  peace  and  concord  begged  Mr. 
La  Butte  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Gladwyn,  commander-in- 
chief,  to  be  good  enough  to  return  to  Pontiac's  camp  to 
help  Messrs.  Godfroy  and  Chapoton  complete  their  work 
of  quenching  the  fires  of  sedition  and  the  re-establishment 
of  peace  between  the  two  parties.  Mr.  La  Butte  promised  to 
do  whatever  he  could,  and  returned  to  the  camp  where  he 
found  Chapoton  and  Godfroy  who  had  not  quitted  Pontiac 
through  hope  of  winning  him  over.  Mr.  La  Butte  joined 
them  to  do  what  the  commanders  had  urged  him. 

Pontiac,  shrewd  and  deceitful,  appeared  to  acquiesce  in 
what  these  three  gentlemen  asked  of  him,  and  to  convey 
the  impression  that  he  consented  to  peace  and  union,  he 
sent  Mr.  La  Butte  and  some  Indians  to  the  Fort  to  speak 
as  his  representatives  to  the  commanders.  This  he  did  to 
get  rid  of  Mr.  La  Butte  whom  he  was  beginning  to  suspect. 

The  Indians  to  the  number  of  six  or  seven  entered  the 
Fort  with  Mr.  La  Butte.  They  saluted  the  commanders 
and  the  officers  who  shook  hands  with  them  in  welcome. 
The  Indians  spoke  in  the  name  of  their  chief  and  were 
heard ;  they  in  turn  seemed  to  listen  to  what  the  command- 
ers said  to  them  through  Mr.  La  Butte.  After  some  min- 
utes of  conversation  they  asked  for  bread,  and  were  given 
as  much  as  they  could  carry  away. 

While  the  Indians  were  parleying  within  the  Fort,  some- 
one started  a  rumor  that  Col.  Bouquet"^  was  about  to  arrive 


**Henry  Bouquet  was  born  in  Rolle,  Switzerland,  in  1719,  and  first  entered 
the  Dutch  service,  afterward  that  of  Sardinia  and  again  served  for  Holland  as 
lieutenant-colonel  of  Swiss  guards.  In  1756  he  entered  the  English  service  and 
became  colonel  of  the  60th  foot,  Feb.  19,  1762;  brigadier-general  in  1765.  In 
1763  he  was  ordered  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Pitt  and  on  August  5th  of  that  year 
defeated  the  Indians  at  Bushy  Run.  In  Oct.,  1764,  he  led  an  expedition  against 
the  Ohio  Indians  in  which  he  was  successful.  lie  died  of  a  fever  in  Pensacola, 
Florida,    Sept.    2,    1765.      A   collection  of  his  papers,   letters  and  journals  is   in  the 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  69 

de  Leurs  parle  et  qu'il  esperait  que  Mrs.  Les  anglois  en 
seroient  quitte  pour  quelque  present  qu'ils  Leur  feroient. 

Mr.  La  Butte  qui  croyait  connaitre  L'interieur  des  Sauv- 
ages  ne  S'appercevoit  pas  qu'il  etait  trompe  dans  son 
attente  et  que  Les  Sauvages  surtout  pondiak  scavoient 
facine  Leur  Mauvais  fond  par  de  Belle  parole. 

Mr.  Cambel,  Second  Commandant  qui  n'aspirait  et 
n'aimait  que  La  tranquillite  et  le  Bon  accord  pria  Mr.  La 
Butte,  au  nom  de  Mr.  Gladouine,  Commandant  en  chef,  de 
vouloir  Bien  retourne  au  Camp  de  pondiak  pour  aider  a 
Mrs.  Godfroy  et  Chapoton  aparacheve  Leurs  ouvrages,  En 
etouffant  Le  feu  de  la  sedition  et  remettre  la  paix  entre  Les 
deux  parties,  ce  que  Mr.  La  Butte,  promis  autant  Comme 
il  en  dependerait  de  luy,  retourne  au  Camp  ou  il  trouva 
Mrs.  Chapoton  et  Godfroy  qui  n'avaient  pas  quitte  pondiak 
pour  pouvoir  L'emmener  a  Leurs  but,  Mr.  La  Butte  se 
rejoignis  a  eux  pour  faire  ce  que  Mrs.  Les  Commandants 
Luy  avoient  Dit. 

Pondiak  en  fin  et  dissimile  paru  adhore  a  tons  ce  que 
ses  trois  messieurs  exigeaient  deluy  et  pour  faire  croire 
qu'il  consentait  a  la  paix  et  a  I'union  renvoya  Mr.  La  Butte 
au  fort  avec  des  sauvages  pour  parle  aux  Commandans  de 
sa  part,  ce  cju'il  en  fesait  etait  pour  se  deffaire  de  Mr.  La 
Butte,  qui  commenqait  a  Luy  devenir  Suspect. 

Les  Sauvages  au  nombre  de  six  ou  Sept.  entrerent  dans 
Le  fort  avec  Mr.  La  Butte. 

Furent  salue  Mrs.  Les  Commandans  et  Les  officiers  qui 
Leurs  firent  Bon  accueil  Leurs  donner  La  main,  Les  Sau- 
vages parlerent  au  nom  de  leurs  chefs  et  furent  ecoute,  eux 
mesme  parurenf  ecoute  ce  que  Mrs.  Les  Commandants 
Leurs  faisaient  a.re  par  Mr.  La  Butte  apres  quelques  mo- 
ments d'entretien  ils  demanderent  du  pain,  ce  qui  Leurs 
fut  donne  autant  qu'ils  en  pouvaient  porte. 

Pendant  Le  tems  que  Les  Sauvages  etaient  dans  le  fort 

Canadian  Archives.  Several  of  these  have  been  printed  in  the  Mich.  Pion.  and 
Hist.  Colls.,  Vol.  XIX.  Others  may  be  found  in  the  Mass.  Hist.  Colls.,  Series  4, 
Vols,  p  and  10;  Letters  and  Papers  relating  to  the  Provincial  History  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Philad.  iSii;  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  Vols, 
in,  XXXII   and  XXXIII. 


70  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

with  two  thousand  troops.  At  this  false  news  the  Indians, 
without  conckiding  anything,  asked  permission  to  withdraw 
to  carry  this  information  to  their  chief.  The  gate  was 
opened  for  them  and  they  returned  alone  to  their  camp  and 
related  the  news  to  Pontiac,  who  instead  of  being  aston- 
ished said  very  plainly  that  the  English  had  lied  and  had 
started  the  rumor  merely  to  frighten  them.  He  had  Messrs. 
Godfroy  and  Chapoton  retire  from  the  camp  for  some 
time,  telling  them  that  he  would  call  them  after  he  had 
spoken  to  his  people  about  what  they  had  come  to  say  to 
him.  He  did  this  in  order  to  have  a  chance  to  ponder  at 
his  leisure  over  some  other  wicked  design. 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Pontiac  summoned 
Messrs.  Godfroy  and  Chapoton  and  several  other  French- 
men to  his  camp  to  tell  them  that  he  had  mollified  his 
young  men  and  that  they  would  consent  to  a  peace,  but  in 
order  to  conclude  it  properly  they  would  feel  flattered  to 
speak  with  Mr.  Campbell,  second  in  command,  in  his  camp, 
because  they  had  known  him  for  three  years  in  command 
at  the  fort  and  regarded  him  as  their  brother.  Neverthe- 
less the  savage  had  concealed  in  his  breast  a  dagger  which 
was  destined  to  be  fateful  to  this  honest  man. 

The  Frenchmen  who  did  not  know  what  Pontiac  had 
in  his  mind  and  believed  that  he  spoke  frankly,  told  him 
they  would  willingly  do  their  best  to  bring  Mr.  Campbell 
there  if  he  would  agree  to  let  him  return  without  insult 
when  they  should  have  completed  their  parley.  He  prom- 
ised this, — it  did  not  cost  him  anything  to  promise!  And 
in  order  to  the  better  cover  his  wickedness  he  ordered  the 
pipe  of  peace  brought  to  them  as  a  guaranty  of  what  he 
and  his  people  said  to  them.  The  French,  particularly 
Messrs.  Godfroy  and  Chapoton,  allowed  themselves  to  be 
caught  in  the  trap  which  Pontiac  set  for  them  as  well  as 
for  the  English. 

While   the   Indians   were   concocting   this   new   plot,   a 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  71 

a  parle  L'on  fit  courir  une  gazette  qui  raportait  que  Mr. 
Le  Colonel  Bouquet  allait  incessamment  arrive  avec  deux 
milhomme  de  troupe,  sur  le  faux  Bruit  Les  sauvages  sans 
autre  conclusion  demanderent  a  sortir  pour  porter  Cette 
nouvelle  a  Leurs  chefs.  La  porte  Leurs  fut  ouverte  et 
s'en  retourner,  Seul  a  Leurs  Camp  et  raconterent  Cette 
nouvelle  a  pondiak  qui  Sans  S'etonne,  dit  tout  net,  que 
Les  anglais  avaient  mentis  Et  cju'il  fesait  courir  le  Bruit 
pour  Les  epouvante, 

II  fit  retire  du  Camp  Mrs.  Godfroy  et  Chapoton  pour 
quelque  temps  Leurs  disant  qu'il  Les  appeleraient  quand 
il  aurait  parle  a  ses  gens  de  ce  qu'ils  venaient  de  luy  dire. 
Ce  qu'il  en  fesoit  etait  pour  reve  a  Loisir  sur  cjuelque  autre 
mauvais  desseins.  Sur  Les  cinq  heures  apres  midi,  pon- 
diak fit  venir  a  Son  Camp  Mrs.  Godfroy  et  Chapoton  et 
plusieurs  autres  franqais  pour  leur  dirent  qu'il  avait  apaise. 
Ses  jeunes  gens  et  qu'ils  Consentaient  a  La  paix,  mais  C[ue 
pour  Bien  La  Conclurent  ils  seraient  flate  de  parle  a  Mr. 
Cambel  Second  Commandant,  dans  son  camp,  parce  qu'il  le 
connassait  depuis  trois  ans,  qu'il  Commendait  Lefort  ils 
Le  regardaient  Comme  Leurs  freres,  mais  Le  Barbara 
cachait  dans  son  Sein  un  poignard  qui  devait  Estre  funeste 
a  cet  honneste  homme. 

Les  francais  qui  ne  Scavoient  pas  ce  c[u'il  avait  dans 
L'interieur  et  qui  croyaient  qu'il  parlait  avec  franchise 
Luy  dirent  que  volontiers  qu'ils  se  faisaient  fort  de  le 
Luy  emmene  qu'il  voullii  Leurs  permettre  de  le  Laisse  S'en 
retourne  Sans  insulte  quand  ils  auraient  finis,  il  Leurs 
promis,  cela  ne  Luy  coutait  rien  a  promettre.  Et  pour 
mieux  Couvir  sa  malignite.  il  Leur  donna  Le  calumet  de 
paix,  Comme  une  preuve  certaine  de  ce  que  Luy  Et  ses 
gens  Leurs  disaient,  Les  frangais  et  surtout  Mrs.  Godfroy 
et  Chapoton  se  Laisserent  surprendre  dans  Les  pieges  que 
pondiak  Leurs  tendoient  egalement   Comme  aux  anglois. 

Dans  le  tems  que  Les  Sauvages  machinoient  Cette  Nou- 


72  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

Frenchman  named  Mr.  Gouin^^  who  had  accidentally  di- 
vined what  was  in  the  minds  of  the  Indians  because  of  sev- 
eral interviews  with  Pontiac  in  which  he  had  not  detected 
anything  favorable  to  the  English,  and  who  had  some  pre- 
sentiment of  what  was  going  to  happen  to  Mr.  Campbell, 
begged  a  Frenchman  passing  by  his  house  to  go  to  the  Fort 
and  warn  Mr.  Campbell  of  what  was  brewing  at  the  camp 
and  ask  him  not  to  leave  the  Fort  nor  trust  in  the  fine 
words  of  a  treacherous  savage. 

In  the  meantime  the  Frenchmen  started  on  the  way  back 
to  the  Fort,  thinking  that  the  mere  presence  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell would  be  sufficient  to  placate  the  Indians.  Mr.  Gouin 
who  saw  them  coming  from  afar,  and  fearing  that  a  first 
warning  would  not  be  enough,  begged  Mr.  Mauran^^  to 
whom  he  explained  the  situation  in  a  few  words  to  run  and 
again  warn  these  gentlemen  not  to  go  out.  Mr.  Mauran 
did  this.  He  came  in  all  haste  to  the  Fort  to  inform  these 
gentlemen  in  detail  of  all  that  Mr.  Gouin  had  told  him, 
and  he  implored  Mr.  Campbell  with  tears  in  his  eyes  not 
to  leave,  saying  if  he  went  to  the  camp  he  would  never 
return. 

In  the  meantime  Messrs.  Godfroy  and  Chapoton  arrived 
at  the  Fort  with  several  Frenchmen  with  them,  and  related 
to  the  English  the  fine  words  of  Pontiac  and  showed  the 
pipe  of  peace  which  they  had  brought.  The  pipe  and  the 
fine  words  made  upon  them  all  the  impression  which  Pon- 
tiac had  promised  himself,  and  the  two  warnings  of  Mr. 
Gouin  were  rendered  useless.  Afterward  the  English 
wished  they  had  listened  to  the  opinions  of  others,  but  it 
was  too  late. 

Mr.  Campbell  who  was  of  a  character  which  desired  only 
unity  and  concord  believed  that  he  had  only  to  present 
himself  at  the  camp  to  allay  the  storm,  and  that  his  pres- 
ence for  a  moment  would  be  more  than  sufficient  to  bring 


_^'*In  a  narrative  by  Cliarles  Gouin,  son  of  Thomas  Gouin  here  mentioned,  he 
claims  that  Thomrs  notified  the  English  of  the  evil  designs  of  Pontiac.  He  fur- 
ther describes  the  conspiracy  and  siege  and  claims  that  his  father  did  everything 
in  his  power  to  prevent  Campbell  from  going  to  Pontiac's  camp.  Later  Gouin, 
St.,  went  to   the  Illinois  to   carry  on  trade  with  the   Indians.     He  was  there  when 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  73 

velle  intrigue  im  frangais  nomme  ]\Ir.  Guoin  qui  par  hasard 
avait  penetre  L'interieur  des  Sauvages  et  qui  avait  en  avec 
pondiak  plusieurs  entretiens  ou  il  n'avait  rien  vu  qui  fut 
favorable  a  Mrs.  Les  anglois  et  qui  avait  quelque  pressenti- 
ments  de  ce  qui  devoit  arrive  a  Mr.  Cambel,  pria  un  fran- 
qais  qui  passait  devant  chez  Lui  pour  venir  au  fort,  d'aver- 
tir  Mr.  Cambel  de  ce  qui  se  passait  au  Camp,  et  Le  priait 
de  ne  pas  sortir  du  fort,  de  ne  pas  se  fier  sur  Les  belles 
paroles  d'un  Sauvage  mal  intentionne.  Cependant  Les 
frangais  se  mirent  en  chemin  pour  venir  au  fort,  croyant 
que  La  presence  Seul  de  Mr.  Cambel  suffisait  pour  apaiser 
Les  Sauvages.  Mr.  Guoin  qui  Les  vit  venir  de  Loing  et 
qui  craignait  qu'un  premier  avertissement  ne  serait  pas 
suffisant  pria  Mr.  Mauran  a  qui  il  conta  en  peu  de  mots 
de  quoy  il  etoit  question,  de  Courir  aussi  pour  avertir  de 
rechef  Ses  Mrs.  de  ne  pas  sortir,  ce  que  fit  Mr.  Mauran, 
il  vint  a  toute  jambe  au  fort  pour  raconter  a  ses  Mrs.  de 
fil  en  aiguille  ce  que  Mr.  Guoin  Luy  avait  dit  et  pria  La 
Larme  a  L'oeil  Mr.  Cambel  de  ne  pas  sortir  et  que  sil 
allait  au  Camp  il  ne  reviendrait  plus. 

Sur  ces  entrefaites  Mrs.  Godfroy  et  Chapoton  arrive- 
rent  au  fort  avec  plusieurs  franqais  qui  Les  accompagnoient 
et  rapporterent  a  Mrs.  Les  anglois  Les  Belles  paroles  de 
pondiak  et  Leurs  montrerent  Le  Calumet  de  paix  qu'ils 
avoient  apportes  avec  eux,  Le  Calumet  et  les  Belles  paroles 
firent  sur  ses  Mrs.  tout  I'effet  que  pondiak,  S'en  etait 
promis  et  Les  deux  avertissements  de  Mr.  Guoin  devin- 
rent  inutille,  ce  que  Mrs.  Les  anglois  desirerent  depuis 
avoir  ecoute  au  prejudice  des  autres,  mais  il  n'etait  plus 
temps. 

Mr.  Cambel,  qui  etait  d'un  caractere  qui  n'aspirait 
qu'apres  I'union  et  La  Concorde  crOis  qu'il  ne  dependait 
plus  que  de  Luy,  en  se  presentant  au  Camp  pour  apaiser 
I'orage  et  qu'un  seul  moment  de  sa  presence  serait  plus  que 

Pontiac    met    his    death    and    was    present    during    the    war    between    the    northern 
Indians    and    the    Peorias,    when    that    nation    was   destroyed.      St.    Anne's   Records 
of  Detroit  gives  his  name  Claude  Jean  Thomas  Gouin.     He  married  Marie  Joseph 
Cuillerier  dit   Beaubien,  Jan.   13,    1742. 
'*Mauran:   Morand,   Moran. 


74r  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

about  peace  between  the  two  parties.  This,  added  to  the 
urging  of  Messrs.  Godfroy  and  Chapoton  who  said  to  him 
that  they  would  answer  for  him  with  their  lives,  caused 
him  to  hesitate  no  longer.  He  set  out,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
MacDougal"^,  officer  of  troops,  Mr.  La  Butte,  and  a  great 
number  of  French  from  the  Fort  who  followed  them,  in  the 
belief  that  the  presence  merely  of  this  perfectly  upright 
man  would  bring  about  the  end  of  the  plot;  and  after  his 
return  which  ought  to  follow,  so  to  speak,  at  once  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  council  they  would  be  at  liberty  to  go 
about  their  business  affairs.  But  they  were  disappointed 
in  their  expectations.  Mr.  Campbell  arrived  at  the  camp 
where  the  Indians  as  soon  as  they  saw  him  coming  made 
the  air  resound  with  the  most  horrible  yells.  Pontiac  had 
to  make  use  of  all  his  authority  to  silence  them. 

^® Pontiac  went  to  meet  Mr.  Campbell,  took  him  by  the 
hand  and  greeted  him.  To  conceal  his  duplicity  the  better 
he  asked  him  to  be  seated  near  him,  adding  that  he  was 
delighted  to  see  him  for  he  esteemed  him  like  a  French- 
man, and  he  and  his  followers  were  going  to  open  nego- 
tiations. 

For  a  good  hour  Mr.  Campbell  and  his  officers  sat  there 
without  the  Indians  speaking  of  anything,  from  which  he 
began  to  draw  an  evil  augury  for  his  errand.  He  remarked 
this  to  the  Frenchmen  who  had  brought  him,  and  they 
replied  that  according  to  the  promise  of  Pontiac  he  would 
be  free  to  return  whenever  he  wished.  He  already  wanted 
to  do  this.  Beginning  to  feel  annoyed  he  had  Pontiac  in- 
formed that  since  there  was  nothing-  to  talk  over  he  was 


5'MacDougal:  Lieut.  George  McDougall,  Sr.,  came  to  Detroit  in  1761  and 
obtained  possession  of  lie  au  Cochon  (Belle  Isle)  before  Pontiac's  siege.  After 
the  war  was  over  he  still  claimed  the  island  and  cultivated  it.  In  1768  a 
dispute  arose  over  its  possession,  but  McDougall  was  allowed  to  occupy  it.  At 
that  time  he  obtained  a  deed  of  it  from  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  and  in  con- 
sideration for  it  paid  them  "5  barrels  of  rum,  3  rolls  of  tobacco,  3  pounds  of 
Vermillion  and  a  belt  of  wampum  and  3  barrels  of  rum  and  3  pounds  of  paint 
when  possession  is  taken."  This  was  of  the  value  of  19-1  £.  The  island  remained 
in  the  possession  of  the  family  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  purchased  by 
the  city  of  Detroit  for  the  sum  of  $200,000  and  is  now  the  largest  park  the  city 
owns.  In  1763  McDougall  married  Marie  Francoise  Navarre,  daughter  of  Rob- 
ert Navarre,  royal  notary  under  the  French  regime  and  acting  in  the  same  capac- 
ity after  the  conquest  by  England.  During  the  Revolution  he  served  as  captain 
in  the  84th  Regiment.     Ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign   in  1780.     He  sold  his 


JOURNAL  OU    DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  75 

suffisant  pour  avoir  La  paix  entre  Les  deux  parties  joint 
aux  instances  que  firent  Mrs.  Godfroy  et  Chapoton  Luy 
disant  qu'ils  repondraient  de  Luy,  corps  pour  corps,  ne  fit 
plus  aucune  difficulte  d'aller  au  Camp,  Et  sortis  accom- 
pagne  de  Monsieur  Magdougal,  officier  de  troupe,  de  Mr. 
La  Butte  et  d'un  grand  nombre  de  francais  du  fort  qui 
Les  suivirent  croyant  qu'effectivement  La  presence  de  ce 
parfait  honnete  homme  serait  La  fin  de  cette  Cabale  et 
qu'apres  son  retour  quy  devait  etre  soit  disant  immediate- 
ment  apres  Le  Conseil  ils  auraient  La  Liberte  de  vaquer  a 
Leurs  affaires,  mais  ils  furent  trompe  dans  leurs  attentes, 
Mr.  Cambel,  arriva  au  Camp  ou  Les  Sauvages  Le  voyant 
venir  firent  retentir  Les  airs  des  cris  Les  plus  affreux,  il 
fut  Besoin  pour  Les  faire  taire  de  toute  L'autorite  que 
pondiak  avait  sur  eux. 

Pondiak  fut  au  devant  de  Mr.  Cambel  Lepris  par  La- 
main  en  Le  saluant  pour  mieux  Cache  sa  felonnie,  Le  fit 
asseoir  aupres  deluy  disant  qu'il  etait  charme  delevoir,  Le 
regardant  comme  un  francois  que  Luy  et  ses  gens  allait 
traite  d'afi^aires,  il  y  fut  Bien  Luy  et  Son  officier  I'espace 
d'une  Bonheure,  sans  que  Les  sauvages  parlassent  de  rien, 
d'ou  Mr.  Cambel,  commenqa  a  tire  mauvaise  augure  de  ses 
pas,  ce  qu'il  fit  voir  aux  frangais,  qui  L'avait  amene,  qui 
Luy  repondirent  que  suivant  La  parole  de  pondiak,  il  serait 
maitre  de  s'en  retourne  quand  il  Le  voudrait,  ce  qu'il 
voullu  faire,  Commengant  un  peu  a  s'ennuyer  fit  dire  a 
pondiak  c[ue  puisqu'il  ne  parlait  de  rien  il  allait  sen  re- 
tourne, pondiak  qui  Craignait  qu'une  si  bonne  proie  Lui 
echapat  et  qui  cro3'^ait  que  retenant  ses  deux  officiers  dans 

ccmmission  tc  Patrick  Sinclair  on  April  8,  1780,  and  died  the  same  day.  He 
left  his  wife,  Marie  Francoise,  and  two  sons,  John  Robert  McDougall,  born  at 
Detroit,  Tune  30,  1764,  who  married  Archange  Campau  and  George,  born  in 
1766  and"  never  married.     Mich.  Pion.  Colls.,   Vol.  XXXVI,  pp.   287-290. 

^^This  meeting  took  place  in  the  largest  room  in  the  house  of  Mons.  Cuillerier. 
The  owner  of  the  house  was  seated  in  the  middle  of  the  room  with  a  'iaced  hat 
and  coat"  on.  He  kept  his  hat  on  and  was  treated  in  every  way  as  though  he 
were  some  one  of  high  authority.  During  the  council  which  followed  it  became 
evident  to  Campbell  and  McDougall  that  Pontiac  looked  upon  Cuillerier  as  the 
Commandant  of  Detroit  during  the  absence  of  Bellestre.  Pontiac  explained  to 
Campbell  the  terms  of  peace,  saying  that  the  English  must  lay  down  their  arms 
and  be  escorted  away  from  the  fort  by  a  number  of  savages — they  would  not  be 
allowed  to  take  baggage  or  arms.  Mich.  Pion.  and  Hist.  Colls.,  Vol.  XXVII, 
p.  641. 


76  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

going  to  go  back.  Pontiac  who  feared  to  let  slip  such  a 
prey  and  who  believed  that  by  holding  these  two  officers 
in  his  camp  the  others  would  come  to  his  terms,  replied  that 
after  these  two  gentlemen  had  passed  two  nights  with  him 
he  would  send  them  back  to  the  Fort.  Thus  it  came  that 
these  men  handed  themselves  over  as  prisoners  to  the  In- 
dians. The  Frenchmen  of  the  Fort  who  had  accompanied 
them  returned  sadder  than  when  they  had  set  out,  for  they 
knew  very  well  that  it  was  a  subterfuge  by  which  Pontiac 
and  his  followers  hoped  to  circumvent  the  people  of  the 
Fort.  When  they  reached  the  Fort  they  recounted  to  Mr. 
Gladwyn  all  that  had  happened  at  the  camp  and  how  his 
men  were  detained, — all  of  which  gave  him  occasion  to 
think  that  he  would  have  done  better  to  trust  Mr.  Gouin 
than  anybody  else. 

The  Pottawattamies  who,  as  I  have  said,  were  in  league 
with  the  Ottawas  for  the  destruction  of  the  English  but 
as  yet  had  not  made  any  great  movement  about  the  Fort, 
in  response  to  Pontiac's  orders  kept  themselves  at  a  dis- 
tance in  the  woods  and  upon  the  shore  of  the  lake  and 
river  in  order  to  stop  any  of  the  English  who  should  be 
marching  to  the  relief  of  the  Fort.  They  made  prisoners 
of  two  men  whom  the  commandant^®  at  St.  Joseph  had  des- 
patched from  his  fort  wuth  letters  for  Mr.  Gladwyn;  they 
were  caught  and  brought  to  the  camp  of  Pontiac  who  had 
them  killed  by  his  men. 

Toward  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  Pontiac  sent  mes- 
sengers to  the  bad  Huron  band  and  to  the  Pottawattamies 
to  inform  them  of  Vv^hat  had  just  taken  place  in  his  camp, — • 
namely,  the  capture  which  he  had  made  in  retaining  the 
two  officers,  and  the  secret  word  that  the  next  morning  at 
daylight  he  would  go  with  four  of  his  chiefs  and  traverse 
the  region  below  the  Fort  to  give  new  orders  and  to  get 
some  ammunition.  He  sent  word  to  Ninivois,  chief  of  the 
Pottawattamies,  that  he  was  to  place  some  twenty  of  his 


"Ensign  Frances  Schlosser, 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  77 

son  Camp  que  Les  autres  viendroit  a  son  but,  fit  reponce 
que  quand  ses  deux  Mrs.  auroient  couche  deux  nuit  avec 
Luy  ils  Les  renvoyeroient  au  fort  ainsy  Ses  Mrs.  furent 
selivre  eux-meme  prisonniers  des  sauvages.  Les  franqois 
du  fort  qui  Les  avoient  accompagne  revinrent  plus  triste 
que  quand  ils  etaient  partis  Jugeant  bien  que  c'etait  un 
detours  par  lequel  pondiak  et  Ses  gens  esperaient  tenir  ses 
Mrs.  du  fort  en  bride  rentrant  dans  Lefort  raconterent 
a  Mr.  Gladouine,  Commandant,  tons  ce  qui  setait  passe  au 
camp  et  La  detention  de  se  Messieur  au  Camp,  ce  qui 
Luy  donna  Lieu  de  croire  qu'il  aurait  mieux  fait  de  croire 
Mr.  Gouin  que  tous  autre. 

Les  poux  qui  comme  Je  Tay  dit  etaient  de  concert  avec 
Les  outavois  dans  La  perte  de  ses  Mrs.  et  qui  cependant 
n'avaient  pas  encore  fait  grand  mouvement  autour  du  fort 
Se  tenant  Suivant  Les  ordres  de  pondiak  au  Loing  dans 
Le  Bois  et  Sur  Lebord  du  Lac  et  de  la  riviere  pour  arreter 
tous  Les  anglais  qui  seroient  En  marche  pour  venir  au 
fort,  firent  deux  prisonniers  qui  etaient  deux  hommes  que  Le 
Commandant  de  St.  Joseph  avait  detache  de  son  fort  pour 
envoyer  y  porter  des  Lettres  a  Mr.  Gladouine,  ils  furent 
pris  et  mene  au  Camp  de  pondiak  qui  Les  fit  massacre 
par  Ses  gens. 

Sur  Les  huit  heures  du  soir,  pondiak  envoya  des  Emis- 
saires  aux  hurons  de  la  mauvaise  bande  et  aux  poux  pour 
Leur  donner  Connaissance  de  ce  qui  venait  de  se  passe  a 
son  Camp  La  Capture  que  Luy  avoient  faite  en  retenant 
ses  deux  officiers  et  Leur  fit  dire  que  demain  de  grand 
matin  il  irait  avec  quatre  de  ses  chefs  Se  promener  dans 
Les  Costes  au  dessous  du  fort  pour  donner  de  nouvelles 
ordres  et  pour  avoir  de  La  munition  et  fit  dire  a  Ninivois 
chef  des  poux  qu'il  eu  a  mettre  une  vingtaine  de  ses  gens 
en  embuscade  aupres  du  fort  afin  qu'il  ne  puisse  sortir 
aucun  anglais  sans  estre  pince. 


78  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

men  in  ambush  near  the  Fort  so  that  no  Englishman  conld 
come  out  without  being  nabbed. 

May  11.     Wednesday. 

Pontiac,  Hke  a  good  general,  ordered  thirty  young  men 
of  his  band  to  go  and  form  an  ambuscade  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Fort  and  catch  all  the  English  that  came  out,  and 
from  time  to  time  to  fire  at  the  little  sloop ;  in  the  meantime 
he  and  the  other  chiefs  would  go  along  the  other  shore  and 
issue  orders  for  the  attack  upon  the  Fort. 

His  men  did  as  they  were  told  and  took  up  their  posi- 
tion on  the  outskirts  situated  northeast  of  the  Fort  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distant.  This  made  a  good 
intrenchment  for  them.  During  this  time,  Pontiac,  followed 
by  four  chiefs,  Mackatepelecite,  Breton,  Chavoinon,  and 
his  nephew,  went  around  through  the  woods  behind  the 
Fort  and  passed  down  into  the  section  southwest  of  the 
Fort,  and  a  little  below.  They  visited  all  the  French  set- 
tlers, but  chiefly  those  who  were  engaged  in  trade,  and 
commanded  them  in  a  harangue  to  give  them  powder  and 
balls,  saying  that  if  they  did  not  wish  to  supply  them  they 
would  plunder  them  of  goods  and  all,  urging  as  a  sufficient 
reason  that  they  did  not  need  any  longer  to  fear  the  Eng- 
lish who  were  not  in  a  condition  to  harm  them  any;  they 
also  declared  that  all  the  nations  where  there  were  any 
English  in  business  or  in  garrison  were  making  a  concerted 
attack  upon  them ;  the  Chippewas  of  Saginaw  and  those  of 
Grand  River  were  coming  to  join  them,  and  all  together 
they  would  bar  the  entrances  so  that  no  more  English 
could  come  to  live  in  their  country. 

The  traders,  seeing  themselves  forced  by  fine  words  and 
threats,  were  compelled  to  give  the  Indians  what  they  de- 
manded in  order  to  have  peace;  and  by  giving  up  part  of 
their  powder  and  balls  they  saved  their  property,  their 
houses,  and  their  families.  The  Pottawattamies  who  were 
at  the  meeting-place  in  obedience  to  Pontiac's  orders 
shared  in  the  distribution,  and  then  each  left  to  return  to 
his  camp  and  distribute  to  their  warriors  and  make  arrange- 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  79 

Heme  May. — Le  Mercredy,  onzieme  May,  pondiak 
Comme  un  bon  general  ordonna  a  trente  jeune  gens  de  sa 
bande  d'aller  s'embiisquer  au  environ  dti  fort  et  de  prendre 
tous  les  anglois  qui  sortirais,  et  de  tire  de  temps  en  temps, 
La  petite  barque,  pendant  que  Luy  et  Les  autres  chefs 
iraient  dans  L'autre  coste  donne  des  ordres  pour  L'attaque 
du  fort,  Ses  gens  firent  qu'ils  venoient  de  Leurs  estre  dit 
et  vinrent  pour  cet  effet  se  place  dans  Le  fauxbourg  qui 
etait  Batis  au  Nord  Est  du  fort,  eloigne  environs  de  deux 
arpens,  ce  qui  etait  pour  eux  un  Bon  retranchement,  pen- 
dant ce  temps,  pondiak  Suivis  de  quatre  chef  qui  etaient 
maquatepeticite,  breton,  Chavoinon  et  de  son  neveu  vin- 
rent par  dans  le  Bois  derriere  Le  fort  dessendirent  dans 
La  Coste  Situe  au  Sorouest  du  fort  un  peu  audessous, 
furent  chez  tous  Les  habitans  principalement  chez  ceux  qui 
tenaient  Commerce  Les  sommes  par  une  harangue  de  leur 
donner  de  la  poudre  et  des  balles  et  que  s'il  ne  voulait  pas 
Leurs  en  donne  ils  Les  pilleroient,  marchandises  et  tout, 
Leur  donnant  pour  Bonne  raison  qu'ils  ne  devaient  plus 
rien  craindre  de  la  part  des  anglais  qu'ils  etoient  hors 
d'etat  de  Leurs  faire  aucune  paine,  Leurs  faisant  entendre 
que  toutes  Les  nations  ou  il  y  avait  des  anglais  en  traite 
ou  en  garnison  frapaient  tous  generale.  Les  sauteux  du 
Saguinaw  et  ceux  de  la  grande  riviere  allaient  venir  Se 
joindre  a  eux,  que  tous  ensemble  bareroient  Les  passages 
pour  qu'ils  ne  viennent  plus  d'anglois  habiter  Sur  Leurs 
terres. 

Les  commergants  Se  voyant  force  de  belle  paroles  et 
demenace  furent  contraint  pour  avoir  La  tranquilite  de 
donner  aux  Sauvages  Ce  qu'ils  demandaient  Et  par  cette 
abandon  d'une  partie  de  leurs  poudre  et  balle  ils  Con- 
serverent  Leurs  butin,  Leurs  maisons  et  Leurs  famille. 
Les  poux  qui  Se  trouverent  Suivant  Les  ordres  de  pondiak 
s'etaient  trouve  a  un  rendez-vous  eurent  Leurs  part  dans 
la  destribution  apres  quoy  chaqu'un  se  separa  pour  re- 
tourner  a  Son  Camp  destribuer  La  monition  a  Leurs  Sol- 
dats  et  prendre  des  mesures  pour  l'attaque  du  Landemain, 


80  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

ments  for  the  attack  of  the  following  day.  All  this  day  the 
people  in  the  Fort  were  quite  undisturbed,  the  Indians  not 
molesting  them;  this  led  a  good  many  who  were  domiciled 
in  the  Fort  to  ask  permission  of  the  commander  to  leave, 
and  it  was  granted  them.  They  withdrew  with  their  fami- 
lies to  the  settlers  along  the  shores,  abandoning  their 
houses  and  a  part  of  their  goods  in  the  hopes  that  the 
tragic  events  would  not  last  more  than  a  few  days. 

Pontiac  crossed  the  river  in  the  afternoon  with  four 
chiefs,  and  went  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Hurons  in 
order  to  induce  the  good  band  to  combine  with  them,  say- 
ing that  if  they  did  not  they  would  be  attacked.  The 
latter  had  not  stirred  from  their  cabins  up  to  the  present 
and  looked  with  disfavor  upon  what  was  happening.  Still, 
seeing  themselves  threatened  and  crowded  so  closely,  and 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  were  weak,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  agree  to  do  what  the  rest  demanded,  and  prom- 
ised  that  after  mass  the  next  day  they  would  join  the  Pot- 
tawattamies  in  the  attack;  they  could  not  do  so  sooner  be- 
cause the  approaching  festival  was  too  important,  and  with- 
out having  heard  mass  it  would  be  nothing  but  foolhardi- 
ness.  Pontiac  consented  to  delay  that  long,  and  ordered 
that  the  firing  should  be  held  back  to  wait  for  the  Hurons. 

May  12.    Thursday;  Feast  of  the  Ascension  of  our  Lord. 

Pontiac  who  kne\x.  neither  feast  nor  Sunday  and  regarded 
all  days  as  alike,  not  making  profession  of  any  religion, 
early  in  the  morning  ordered  all  his  men  to  hold  themselves 
ready  so  that  as  soon  as  the  Hurons  came  they  could 
attack  all  together.  For  fear  that  the  Hurons  would  not 
keep  their  word  he  sent  one  of  his  chiefs  with  several 
young  men  to  their  camp  to  tell  them  not  to  fail,  and  as 
soon  as  their  missionaries  had  finished  service  to  come  and 
join  the  Pottawattamies,  as  he  only  awaited  their  arrival  to 
attack.    The  Hurons  promised  and  kept  their  word. 

Although  Pontiac  was  waiting  for  the  Hurons  in  order 
to  begin  the  attack  upon  the  Fort,  still  he  had  some  of 
his  men  advance  in  order  to  take  possession  of  the  barns 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE   CONSPIRATION  81 

toute  cette  journee  ses  Messieurs  furent  assez  tranquille 
dans  Le  fort  n'etant  point  inquiete  par  Les  sauvages,  ce 
qui  occasionna  que  Beaucoup  de  domicilier  du  fort  de- 
mander  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  a  Sortir  du  fort  ce  qui 
Leurs  fut  accorde  et  ils  se  retirerent  dans  Les  Coste  chez  Les 
habitans  avec  leur  families,  abandonnant  Leurs  maison  et 
une  partie  de  Leurs  butin  esperant  que  le  tragique  evene- 
ment  n'aurait  qu'une  passe  de  quelque  jours. 

Dans  L'apres  midy,  pondiak  traversa  La  riviere  avec 
quatre  chefs  et  furent  tenir  Conseil  chez  les  hurons  pour 
engagner  La  Bonne  bande  et  se  mettre  avec  eux,  ou  bien 
qu'ils  fraperoient  Sur  eux,  ces  derniers  qui  jusqu  a  present 
n'avoient  pas  Encore  Branle  de  leur  cabane  et  qui  regar- 
doient  tous  ce  qui  se  passaient  d'un  mauvais  oeil  se  voyant 
menace  et  Sere  de  sipres,  joint  a  ce  qu'ils  etoient  foible  de 
monde,  furent  contraint  de  Consentir  a  faire  ce  que  Les 
autres  exigeait  d'eux  et  promirent  que  Le  Landemain  apres 
La  Messe  ils  Se  joindroit  avec  Les  poux  pour  frape,  ne 
Le  pouvant  pas  plustot  a  cause  que  cestait  trop  grande 
feste  et  que  il  serait  de  valeur  sans  avoir  entendu  La  messe, 
pondiak  Consenti  a  attendre  jusqu'a  ce  temps  et  ordonna 
que  Le  feux  serait  retarde  pour  attendre  Les  hurons. 

12ieme  May. — Le  Jeudi  12e  de  May,  jour  de  la  feste 
de  Lascencion  de  notre  Seigneur,, pondiak  qui  ne  connaissait 
ni  feste,  ni  dimanche,  que  tous  Les  jours  Lui  etait  Egaux, 
ne  fesant  profession  d'aucune  S.  religion  ordonna  des  Le 
matin  que  Ses  gens  Se  tinrent  pres  pour  quand  Les  hurons 
viendrait  pour  frape  tous  ensemble.  Et  craignant  que 
Les  hurons  Luy  manc[uassent  de  parole,  il  envoya  un  de 
Ses  chefs  avec  plusieurs  jeunes  gens  chez  eux  pour  Leur 
dirent  de  ne  pas  manque  Sitot  que  Leurs  missionnaires 
auroient  fini  de  venirent  sejoindre  aux  paux  et  qu'il  n'at- 
tendaient  que  Leurs  arrive  pour  frape.     Les  hurons  Leurs 

promirent  et  Leurs  tins  La  parole quoy  que  pondiak 

attendissent  Les  hurons  pour  faire  commencer  L'attaque 
du   fort   il   avait   fait   neanmoins   avancer   Ses  gens   pour 


82  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

and  stables  around  the  Fort  from  the  rear,  so  as  to  be 
ready  to  make  an  onslaught  at  the  first  signal  and  hinder 
anybody's  leaving. 

Teata'*^  and  Baby^^,  both  chiefs  of  the  good  Hurons, 
who  had  preserved  neutrality  up  to  the  present  time  and 
would  have  liked  to  do  so  longer,  seeing  themselves  coerced 
by  threats,  ordered  their  band  about  sixty  men  in  num- 
ber to  assemble,  and  they  thus  addressed  them : 

"My  brothers,  you  see  as  well  as  we  do  the  risks  that 
we  are  running,  and  that  in  the  present  state  of  affairs  we 
have  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  side  either  with  our  broth- 
ers, the  Ottawas  and  the  Pottawattamies,  or  else  abandon 
our  lands  and  flee  with  our  wives  and  children — a  rash 
thing  to  do.  We  would  hardly  get  started  to  leave  before 
the  Ottawas  and  the  Pottawattamies,  and  even  those  of  our 
own  nation,  would  fall  upon  us  and  kill  our  wives  and 
children  and  then  compel  us  to  assist  them.  Instead  of 
that,  by  co-operating  now,  we  make  sure  that  our  families 
will  be  left  in  peace  in  our  village.  We  do  not  know 
what  the  designs  of  the  IMaster  of  Life  towards  us  may 
be.  Is  it  He  who  inspires  our  brothers,  the  Ottawas,  to 
war?  If  it  is  not  He  who  commands  it  He  will  well  be 
able  to  make  his  desires  known,  and  we  shall  yet  be  able 
to  withdraw  without  being  stained  by  the  blood  of  the 
English.  Let  us  do  what  our  brothers  demand  of  us,  and 
spare  not." 

Immediately  after  that  harangue  each  chief  took  a  toma- 
hawk and  chanted  the  war-song,  and  asked  his  men  to  do 
likewise  while  waiting  for  the  hour  of  mass;  after  which 
their  wives  sang  the  mass  and  they  listened  with  great 
devotion.  When  mass  was  over  each  one  went  to  his  cabin 
and  armed  himself  with  the  necessary  weapons  for  the 
attack,  and  then  they  crossed  the  river  in  twelve  canoes 


*''Teata  also  spelled  Theata.  In  Schoolcraft's  translation  it  is  written  Peatan, 
clearly   a   mistake.      See   note   5. 

"Baby  (Rabie)  signed  the  treaty  of  Fort  Niagara,  July  18,  1764.  His  Indian 
name  was  Odinghquanooron  and  he  appears  to  have  possessed  considerable  irfflu- 
ence    over   his   tribe. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  83 

sempare  des  derrieres  des  granges  et  des  ecuries  autour 
du  fort  pour  tous  aporte  a  premier  signe  et  pour  empeche 
que  personne  ne  sorte  du  fort. 

Teata  et  Baby  tous  deux  chefs  de  la  Bonne  bande  des 
hurons,  qui  Jusque  a  present  avait  garde  La  neutralite  et 
qui  Laurait  voullii  La  garde  plus  Longtemps,  se  voyant 
force  par  menace  firent  assemble  Leurs  bande  qui  com- 
posoient  autour  de  soixant  hommes  et  Leur  dirent  Mes 
freres  vous  voyez  tous  egalement  comme  nous  Les  risques 
que  nous  Courons  tous  et  que  dans  La  Situation  oujoint 
Les  affaires  nous  n'avons  plus  d'autre  ressource  ou  de 
nous  joindre  a  nos  freres  Les  Outavois  et  Les  poux  ou 
Bien  d'abondonner  nos  terres  et  de  fuir  avec  nos  femmes 
et  nos  en f ants,  ce  qui  est  bien  de  valeur,  nous  ne  serons 
pent  estre  pas  a  peine  partis  pour  nous  en  aller,  que  Les 
outavois  et  Les  poux  et  ceux  mesme  de  nostre  nations, 
tomberons  Sur  nous  et  tuerons  nos  femmes  et  nos  enfans, 
et  encore  nous  contraindrons  de  faire  Comme  eux,  aulieu 
que  en  Lefaisant  apresent,  nous  assure  que  nos  families 
seront  tranquille  dans  nostre  village,  nous  ne  scavons  pas 
quelle  sont  Les  desseins  du  Maitre  de  La  Vie  sur  nous, 
pent  Estre  Esce  Luy  qui  inspire  cette  guerre  a  nos  freres, 
Les  Outavois,  si  ce  nest  pas  Luy  qui  L'ordonne,  il  s^aura 
Bien  nous  faire  connaitre  Sa  volonte  et  nous  serons 
toujours  Bien  a  mesme  de  nous  retire  sans  estre  tache  du 
sang  des  Anglois,  faisons  ce  que  nos  freres  exige  denous 
Et  ne  nous  Epargnons  point,  tant  incontinent  apres  cette 
harangue  ils  prirent  chaqu'un  un  Casse  teste  et  chanterent 
La  guerre  et  inviterent  Leurs  gens  a  en  faire  autant.  En 
attendant  I'heure  de  Lamesse,  que  Leurs  femmes  chanterent 
et  qu'ils  furent  entendre  Bien  devotement.  La  Messe 
finit  chaqu'un  fut  a  Sa  Cabane  sarme  de  ce  qui  Leurs 
etaient  necessaire  pour  frape  et  traversserent  La  riviere  au 
nombre  de  douze  Canots,  droit  chez  Les  poux  qui  firent  des 


84      JOURNAL  OR  NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

Straight  to  the  Pottawattamies  who  uttered  yells  of  joy 
at  seeing  them  arrive.  These  cries  were  a  signal  to  Pon- 
tiac  of  the  arrival  of  the  Hurons  whose  fire  was  more 
effective  than  that  of  all  the  other  Indians  put  together, 

Ninivois  at  the  head  of  the  Pottawattamies,  and  Takay 
and  Teata  at  the  head  of  the  Hurons,  although  without 
orders,  proceeded  to  invest  the  Fort  on  one  side,  while 
Pontiac  at  the  head  of  his  men,  following  the  same  tac- 
tics, invested  it  on  the  other  side;  all  acting  together  they 
began  the  attack  upon  the  Fort  and  the  vessels  and  pushed 
it  vigorously  with  a  heavy  fire  and  v^-ithout  interruption  till 
seven  o'clock.  All  the  time  the  Indians  stayed  in  the  shel- 
ter of  the  buildings  to  escape  the  fire  from  the  Fort  which 
was  not  able  to  harm  them,  inasmuch  as  there  was  but  one 
cannon  in  fighting  condition  and  it  was  only  poorly  sup- 
ported by  the  musketry  of  the  garrison.  None  of  the  shots 
did  much  damage  outside  the  Fort,  a  fact  which  the  Eng- 
lish discovered  in  time.  In  order  to  remedy  this  and  pro- 
vide a  better  range  for  their  guns,  they  tied  up  with  iron 
wire  several  spikes  in  a  bundle  which  they  heated  red-hot; 
and  loading  the  cannon  on  the  battery  with  this  they  fired 
it  at  two  barns  filled  and  covered  with  straw.  In  less  than 
half  an  hour  they  were  reduced  to  ashes.  For  this  reason 
the  Indians  withdrew  to  the  shelter  of  the  other  side  of 
the  slope  in  order  to  keep  up  the  firing  without  risk. 

During  all  this  time  the  two  sloops  did  not  spare  pains 
or  powder,  firing  suddenly  over  the  Fort  as  well  as  across 
the  two  ends  of  it,  opposite  v/hich  they  were  moored.  Two 
Indians  were  killed  in  this  action  and  two  wounded, — one 
having  his  thigh  broken  and  the  other  his  arm,  both  by 
the  same  shot  discharged  toward  the  rear  of  the  Fort.  In 
this  regard  the  English  took  care  to  conceal  their  killed  so 
that  the  facts  might  not  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Indians.  Still  it  was  learned  in  spite  of  them  that  they 
had  several  killed  in  the  large  sloop,^^  and  a  good  many 


*-In  the  Siege  of  Detroit  by  Hough,  May  12th,  the  author  says  that  the  English 
had  but  one  man  slightly  wounded  in  the  fort  and  another  on  the  vessels,  whereas 
the   Indians  had  three  or  four  killed  and  nine  or  ten  wounded. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  85 

cris  de  Joye  de  les  voir  arrive,  et  ses  mesme  cris  etoient  un 
signal  pour  pondiak  de  la  vend  des  hurons,  qui  devinrent 
plus  taquin  aux  feux  que  tous  Les  autres  Sauvages  en- 
semble. Ninivois  a  la  teste  des  poux,  tace  et  teata  a  la 
teste  des  hurons  quoy  que  Sans  ordres  furent  investir  Le 
fort  d'un  Coste,  pondiak  a  la  teste  des  siens,  observant 
La  mesme  marche,  L'investi  de  L'autre  cote  et  tous 
ensemble  Commencerent  I'attaque  du  fort  et  des  barques 
qui  fut  pousse  vigoureusement  par  un  feu  des  plus  vives 
qui  sans  discontinue  dura  Jusque  a  Sept  heures  du  Soir, 
Se  tenant  tou jours  a  convert  derriere  Les  batimens  pour 
Eviter  Lefeu  du  fort  qui  ne  pouvait  pas  Leurs  faire  grand 
mal,  n'ayant  qu'une  piece  de  canon  en  Etat  de  battre  et 
qui  etait  un  peu  seconde  La  mousqueterie  de  la  garnison, 
tous  les  Coups  ne  portoient  que  faiblement  au  dehors,  ces 
Mrs.  s'en  appercurent  encore  a  temps,  et  pour  y  remedie  a 
cela  et  pour  que  Les  coups  du  fusil  portassent  mieux, 
Lierent  en  paquet  avec  du  fil  de  fers  plusieurs  fiches 
ensemble  qu'ils  firent  rougir  et  mirent  dans  La  piece  de 
canon  de  la  batterie  et  L'envoyerent  sur  deux  granges  qui 
etoient  pleines  et  couverte  de  paille  qui  furent  reduit 
encendre  en  moins  d'une  demie  heure;  ce  qui  fut  cause 
que  Les  Sauvages  ou  du  moins  Seloignerent  pour  se  mettre 
a  Convert  de  L'autre  Cote  du  Coteau  pour  continuer  Leur 
feu  sans  risque :  Les  deux  barque  pendant  toute  cette 
action,  n'epargnereut  point  Leurs  peines  et  Leurs  poudres, 
tirant  presque  a  Coup  portant  tant  par  dessus  Le  fort,  qui 
aux  deux  bout  vis  a  vis  desquelles  elles  etaient  mouilles ;  il  y 
eiit  dans  toute  Cette  action  deux  sauvages  de  tue  et  deux 
de  blesse.  L'un  La  Cuisse  Casse  et  L'autre  Lebras  du  mesme 
coup  tous  Les  deux  d'un  boulet  envoye  derriere  Le  fort  pour 
ce  qui  regarde  a  ce  sujet  Mrs.  Les  anglais  il  ont  eiis  Soin 
de  cacher  Leurs  mort  afin  que  cela  ne  vint  point  a  la 
Connaissance  des  sauvages  parla  L'on  a  pourtant  Sgu 
comme  malgre  eux  qu'il  y  en  a  eu  plusieurs  detue  dans 
La  grosse  barque  et  beaucoup  de  blesse  tant  dans  Les  bar- 


86  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

wounded  on  the  vessels  as  well  as  in  the  Fort.  This  was 
noticed  by  everybody  who  was  on  the  inside. 

Toward  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  fire  of  the  Indians 
having  subsided  a  little,  the  Commandant  who  feared  that 
the  Indians  under  cover  of  night  would  attempt  either  to 
carry  the  Fort  by  assault  or  set  it  on  fire,  issued  two 
orders :  first  that  tubs  and  barrels  should  be  placed  in  the 
streets  and  upon  the  ramparts  at  the  four  corners  of  the 
fort,  and  that  the  French  to  the  number  of  twenty,  chosen 
from  those  who  were  voluntarily  in  the  Fort,  should  fill 
them  by  drawing  water  from  the  wells ;  second,  in  view  of 
the  fewness  of  numbers  which  rendered  defense  hopeless, 
and  since  to  all  appearances  the  expected  assistance  would 
not  arrive  on  time,  and  as  there  was  a  lack  of  supplies  of 
food  and  ammunition,  the  French  should  retire  to  their 
houses  and  pui  out  their  fires  at  tattoo,  and  then  the  troops 
should  go  from  the  Fort  to  the  sloops  to  load  the  goods 
of  the  officers,  of  themselves,  and  of  the  traders;  and 
everybody  should  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  embark  at 
the  first  signal  in  order  to  fall  back  upon  Niagara. 

The  night  passed  very  c|uietly  which  was  an  augury  for 
the  English  that  they  might  hold  the  place  longer  than  they 
had  hoped,  and  they  regained  courage  a  little  to  withstand 
the  attack  of  the  Indians. 

May  13,  Friday. 

It  is  almost  a  general  rule  that  all  the  Indians  who  in- 
habit these  regions  are  as  unstable  as  the  wind,  and  if 
they  knew  they  would  lose  men  in  making  war  they  would 
not  begin,  which  sometimes  induces  them  to  stop  opera- 
tions as  soon  as  they  have  begun ;  frequently,  however,  this 
arouses  them  the  more.  These,  here,  as  I  have  said,  had 
some  killed  and  wounded;  this  induced  them  to  try  in- 
cantations to  see  how  they  might  proceed  without  losing 
any  more  and  take  the  fort  which,  to  hear  them  talk,  must 
surrender  sooner  or  later  in  spite  of  the  reinforcements 
which  it  was  claimed  were  soon  to  arrive. 

May  13. 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  87 

qiies  que  dans  Le  fort,  ce  qui  a  ete  vue  de  tous  Le  monde  qui 
etais  de  dans. 

Sur  Les  sept  heures  du  Soir  Le  feu  des  sauvages 
ayant  un  peu  Calme,  Mr.  Le  Commandant  qui 
craignais  qu'  a  la  faveur  de  la  nuit  Les  sauvages  ne 
fissent  quelque  tentative  ou  pour  monter  Lassaut  ou  pour 
mettre  Le  feu,  ordonna  deux  choses :  L'une  L'on  mit 
des  Cuves  et  des  Bariques  au  quatre  Coin  du  fort,  dans  Les 
rues  et  sur  les  ramparts,  et  que  Les  francais  qui  etaient 
reste  volontairement  dans  Le  fort  au  nombre  de  vingt 
personnes  tirassent  de  L'eau  des  puis  pour  remplir  les 
vaisseaux  L'autre  comme  se  voyant  faible  de  monde  et 
qu'il  y  avait  apparance  que  Le  secours  qu'il  attendait  ne 
viendrait  pas  encore  sitost,  et  par  deffaut  de  monde  hors 
d'etat  de  soutenir,  manquant  de  provision  de  guerre  et  de 
bouche,  que  Les  francais  se  retiroient  chez  eux  a  la  retraite 
Les  feux  eteint  dans  Les  maisons,  Et  que  la  troupe  vo- 
yageroit  du  fort  aux  Barques  pour  y  embarque  Le  Butin 
des  ofticiers  et  Celui  des  Commerqans  et  que  tout  le  monde 
se  tiendraient  prest  a  Embarque  dans  Les  Barques  au 
premier  Signe,  pour  Se  plier  a  niagara. 

La  nuit  se  passa  Bien  tranquille,  ce  qui  augure  a  ces 
messieurs  que  ils  garderoient  La  place  plus  Longtemps 
qu'ils  ne  L'esperoient  et  reprirent  un  peu  Leur  Sens  pour 
Soutenir  L'attaque  du  Lendemain. 

13eme  May. — C'est  une  regie  presque  general  que  tous 
Les  Sauvages  qui  habitent  ces  contrees  sont  comme  le  vent 
n'allant  que  par  Bouffe,  et  cjue  Sil  Sqavoient  perdre  du 
monde  en  fasant  La  guerre,  ils  ne  Laferaient  pas,  ce  qui 
cause  Souvent  qu'ils  finissent  aussitot  qu'ils  ont  commence, 
ce  qui  aussi  quelquefois  Les  anime  davantage.  Ceux  cy 
comme  Je  lay  dit  en  avait  eii  de  tue  et  de  blesse,  ce  qui 
Le  fit  jongler  pour  voir  Comme  ils  sy  prendroient  pour 
n'en  plus  perdre  et  pour  avoir  Lefort  qui  a  Les  entendre 
parle  tost  ou  tard,  ne  pouvoient  pas  Leurs  fuir  par  le 
renfort  qui  soit  disant  devoit  Leurs  venirent  dans  peu. 

13e    May. — Les  sauvages    dans  Taction    de  la  journee 


88  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

The  Indians  in  the  action  of  the  preceding  day  had 
moved  about  so  much  that  they  were  tired  by  night;  dur- 
ing the  evening  they  sought  rest  and  slept  all  night  and 
almost  the  following  forenoon.  The  Commandant  who 
expected  an  attack  at  daybreak  had  spent  the  whole  night 
watching  with  his  officers  on  the  ramparts,  ready  to  give 
orders  and  afraid  of  being  surprised.  When  he  saw  how 
quiet  the  Indians  were  he  ordered  that  their  fortifications 
should  be  burned  down  at  once.  To  this  end  Mr.  Hop- 
kins,'^ ^  captain  of  a  new  company  and  a  good  soldier,  made 
a  sortie  at  the  head  of  forty  volunteers  armed  to  the  teeth, 
and  proceeded  to  set  fire  to  the  suburbs  which,  with  the 
exception  of  two  houses  the  fire  could  not  reach,  soon 
burned.  He  then  immediately  returned  to  the  Fort  to 
allow  tmie  for  another  officer  to  make  a  similar  expe- 
dition in  another  direction.  This  was  undertaken  by  Mr. 
Hay'*'^,  a  lieutenant  of  the  American  troops,  who  likewise 
sallied  out  with  thirty  men  and  set  fire  to  two  barns  and 
stables  behind  the  Fort,  and  then  returned  at  once;  they 
suspected  that  Pontiac  and  his  Indians,  seeing  the  fires 
from  a  distance,  would  come  and  fall  upon  them  to  cut 
off  their  retreat.     Fortunately,  however,  the  Indians  had 


*^Capt.  Joseph  Hopkins  came  originally  from  Maryland  and  had  served  in  the 
18th  or  Royal  Irish  Regiment.  For  his  services  he  obtained  a  captain's  com- 
mission and  raised  a  company  of  Independents  known  as  Hopkins'  Independent 
Company  of  Rangers  or  Queen's  Independent  Rangers.  This  company  was  sent 
to  Detroit  in  the  fall  of  1762.  It  consisted  of  four  officers,  of  whom  were  Lieuts. 
Abraham  Cuyler  and  Francis  Phister,  four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  two  drum- 
mers and  110  men.  (Part  of  this  company  started  to  the  relief  of  Detroit  under 
Lieut.  Cuyler  in  the  spring  of  1763  and  was  attacked  and  routed  on  Point  Pelee.) 
As  soon,  as  they  arrived  Campbell  sent  them  back  to  Niagara  for  the  winter,  in 
order  to  save  provisions.  Hopkins  evidently  remained  in  Detroit.  During  the 
siege  he  took  a  very  active  part.  He  presided  at  some  of  the  courts  of  inquiry 
which  investigated  the  conduct  of  the  French  during  the  siege.  At  the  request 
of  Cuillerier  he  was  one  of  the  few  Englishmen  who  were  to  be  saved  if  Pon- 
tiac succeeded  in  his  plans.  At  the  end  of  the  year  (1763)  his  company  was 
disbanded  and  the  officers  put  on  halfpay.  In  1764  he  went  to  England  where  he 
was  granted  a  coat  of  arms  by  Royal  grant,  but  being  disappointed  in  his  expec- 
tations he  became  a  "noisy  and  virulent  talker  in  the  coffee  house,"  where  he 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  French  emissary  and  was  induced  to  change 
his  allegiance  to  France.  In  1766  he  wrote  to  Robert  Rogers  from  Cap 
Francis,  San  Domingo,  explaining  his  change  and  urging  Rogers  to  dj 
likewise.  A  copy  of  this  letter  was  sent  to  Sir  William  Johnson  and 
played  a  part  in  the  downfall  of  Rogers.  In  this  letter  he  wished  to  be 
remembered  to  Messrs.  Reaume  and  St.  Martin  and  "ma  chere  Catharine,"  and 
asked  Rogers  to  tell  "Baube  and  all  my  friends  the  Hurons,  Pottawatameys,  ye 
Chippawas,  and  the  Ottawas  of  the  change  I've  made  and  if  you  have  an  inter- 
view with  Pontiac  take  him  bv  the  hand  for  me,  and  make  known  to  him  I  serve 
his  Father,  the  King  of  France."  In  the  spring  of  1768,  he  received  the  Cross 
of  Military  Merit,  in  the  fall  of  1770  was  made  brigadier-general  in  the  French 
army  and  at  some  time   was   governor   of  Aux   Cayes.     When   the   American   Revo- 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION  89 

precedente  s'etoient  doiine  tant  de  mouvement  que  Sur  Le 
Soir  ils  etoient  fatigues  et  chercherent  a  se  repose  sur  Le 
soir  et  dormireiit  toute  La  nuit  et  presque  La  matinee 
Mr.  Le  Commandant  qui  s'attendoient  des  Le  petit  matin  a 
estre  attaque,  Et  qui  avec  les  officiers  avoient  passe  toute 
la  nuit  a  veille  sur  Les  rampart  pour  donner  Ses  ordres 
et  Crainte  de  surprise  voyant  La  tranquillite  des  sauvages 
ordonna  que  L'on  fut  promptement  a  la  ruine  des  retran- 
chements  des  sauvages  par  une  incendie  pour  cette  effet 
Mr.  Hobquince,  capitaine  d'une  nouvelle  Compagnie  Et 
Bon  soldat  Sortis  a  la  teste  de  quarante  hommes  de  troupes 
de  Bonne  vollonte,  arme  jusque  au  dents,  furent  mettre 
Lefeu  au  faubourg,  qui  fut  Bientost  consomme  a  la  reserve 
de  deux  maison  que  Le  feu  ne  put  atteindre  et  rentrerent 
tout  incontinent  dans  le  fort  pour  donner  Le  tems  a  un 
autre  officier  a  une  pareille  Expedition  d'un  autre  Cote  qui 
fut  faite  par  Mr.  he,  Lieutenant  des  troupes  ameriquaines, 
qui  sortis  aussi  avec  trente  hommes  Et  mirent  Le  feu  a 
deux  granges  et  Ecuries  derriere  Le  fort  et  rentrerent  tout 
de  suite,  se  mefiant  bien  que  pondiak  et  Les  Sauvages 
voyant  de  loing  Ses  incendies  viendroient  foncer  sur  eux 
pour  deffendre  Leur  retraite  mais  heureusement  autre  chose 


lution  broke  out  he  begged  to  be  allowed  to  enlist  in  the  American  cause.  He 
also  petitioned  for  the  rank  of  Marechal  de  camp  and  the  Grand  Cordon  of  Mili- 
tary Merit.  He  was  refused  permission  to  go  as  a  French  officer,  but  was  told 
that  he  could  dispose  of  his  body  as  lie  saw  fit.  At  the  same  time  he  so  antagon- 
ized Silas  Deane,  who  was  negotiating  in  Paris  in  behalf  of  the  colonies,  that 
the  latter  wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Secret  Correspondence  warning  them  against 
Hopkins  should  he  venture  to  come  to  America.  He  evidently  remained  in 
France  for  Fulwar  Skipwith,  who  was  Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  Legation  in  1794, 
and  Consul  for  the  department  of  Paris  later,  represents  him  as  having  become 
unfriendly  to  the  United  States  and  as  having  solicited  the  command  of  a  vessel 
to  cruise  against  the  enemies  of  France,  but  without  success.  See  Stevens's  Fac- 
similes; Wharton's  Diplomatic  Correspondence ;  Mich.  Pion.  and  Hist.  Colls.,  Vols. 
XIX  and  XXVII ;  Siege  of  Detroit  by  Hough;  Force's  American  Archives;  Jour- 
nals of  Robert  Rogers  by  Hough;  Army  Lists  (British);  Historical  Magazine 
and  Notes  and  Queries,  Vol.  Ill,  1859,  pp.  122,  ijS;  Writings  of  James  Monroe  by 
Hamilton,  and  America  Heraldica  by   Vermont. 

■"Jehu  Hay  was  born  in  Chester,  Pa.,  and  enlisted  in  the  60th  American 
Regiment  in  1758.  In  1763  he  was  serving  as  lieutenant  in  Detroit.  In  1766  he 
was  made  Indian  Commissary.  In  1774  he  was  selected  by  Haldimand  to  visit 
and  report  on  the  conditions  in  Illinois.  In  1776  he  became  deputy  Indian 
Agent  and  major  of  the  Detroit  militia.  He  was  a  prisoner  at  Vincennes  with 
Ilamilton,  was  sent  to  Virginia  and  exchanged  in  1781.  In  1782  he  became 
lieutenant  governor  of  Detroit,  and  died  and  was  buried  there  Aug.  5th,  1785. 
On  Jan.  22,  1748,  he  married  Julie  Marie  Reaume,  daughter  of  Hyacinth  Reaume, 
a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  cousin  of  Veronica  Reaume,  who,  in  1764,  married 
Gabriel  Christopher  LeGrand.  He  had  one  son,  John,  who  later  became  a  prom- 
inent citizen  of  Cahokia,  Illinois.  Thivaite's  and  Kellogg's  Revolution  on  the 
Upper  Ohio,  p.  130;  Genealogy  of  the  Campau  Family  by  C.  M.  Burton;  Canadian 
Archives  Q.  25,  pp.  132,  149;  Denissen  Genealogies  MMS. 


90  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

something  else  to  occupy  them  the  whole  morning.  Still 
there  were  some  who  were  on  the  watch,  but  in  such  few 
numbers  that  they  did  not  dare  either  to  show  themselves 
or  to  shoot  for  fear  of  being  discovered  and  attacked.  Thus 
the  two  parties  feared  each  other. 

While  these  two  gentlemen  with  part  of  the  troops  were 
working  to  render  the  region  surrounding  the  fort  clear 
and  open,  the  Indians  in  Pontiac's  camp  were  holding  a 
council  to  which  the  oldest  French  settlers  of  the  coasts 
had  been  summoned  in  the  hope  that  they  might  be  per- 
suaded with  fine  words  to  join  with  them  and  show  them 
how  to  throw  up  an  intrenchment.  The  French  were  of 
no  mind  to  do  this,  and  anyway  the  most  of  them  did  not 
know  how,  and  those  who  did  know  took  good  care  not  to 
say  so,  urging  in  their  own  defense  that  they  did  not  know 
how  to  go  about  it. 

Pontiac,  seeing  that  he  could  not  gain  anything  in  this 
direction  and  not  being  willing  to  get  by  force  what  he 
had  hoped  to  get  from  them  voluntarily, — I  mean  their 
labor — tried  another  scheme  and  had  Mr.  La  Butte  tell  Mr, 
Campbell  to  write  to  the  Commandant  what  he  was  going 
to  dictate  to  him  in  the  presence  of  all  these  brothers  of 
his,  the  French.  Mr.  Campbell  did  this,  not  wishing  at  all 
to  displease  a  man  whose  wickedness  he  was  beginning  to 
realize.  This  letter  said  that  Pontiac  permitted  the  Com- 
mandant to  retire  with  his  vessels  and  all  his  force,  taking 
away  only  the  clothing  they  wore,  just  as  Mr.  Belestre 
had  done;  the  rest  of  their  goods  and  the  goods  and  mer- 
chandise of  the  traders  should  remain  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Indians;  furthermore,  it  was  already  a  good  deal  that 
he  gave  them  their  life  and  he  promised  that  no  harm 
should  happen  to  them  from  his  followers,  and  he  guar- 
anteed the  peace  of  all  the  other  nations.  But  if  the  com- 
mander was  not  willing  to  consent  to  what  he  advised  him 
in  that  letter,  he  would  begin  the  attack  again  and  proceed 
to  an  assault,  and  if  he  captured  him  alive  he  would  treat 
him  as  the  Indians  treat  one  another  when  making  war; 


JOL^RNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  91 

Les  occupait  toute  La  matinee  ils  y  en  avait  cependant 
quelqu'un  qui  etait  au  guet,  mais  en  si  petit  nombre  qu'ils 
n'oserent  ni  semonter,  ni  tirer  par  La  crainte  de  se  de- 
couvrir  et  que  L'on  ne  fut  sur  eux  ainsy  Les  deux  parties 
se  craignoient  L'une  L'autre. 

Pendant  que  ses  messieurs  avec  une  partie  de  Leurs 
troupes  travailloient  a  rendre  Les  dehors  du  fort  Libre  et 
nette.  tous  Les  Sauvages  au  Camp  de  pondiak  tenoient 
Conseil  ou  Les  plus  anciens  frangais  domicilier  des  Costes 
furent  appele  pour  tache  de  les  engager  par  de  Belles 
paroles  a  Se  joindre  avec  eux  pour  Leurs  donner  des 
instructions  pour  ouvrir  une  tranche,  ce  que  Les  franqais 
n'etoient  pas  d'humeur  de  faire,  joint  a  ce  que  Laplupart 
ne  savaient  pas  Comme  il  faut  siprendre  Et  ceux  qui  le 
Sgavoient  Se  donnoient  Bien  de  garde  de  le  dire,  disant 
pour  Bonne  deffence  qu'ils  ne  Scavoient  pas  comment  cela 
se  faisoient.  Pondiak  voyant  qu'il  ne  pouvait  rien  gagne 
de  ce  coste  La  et  qui  ne  voulait  point  encore  avoir  par 
force  ce  qu'il  esperait  avoir  volontairement  deux  meme; 
Je  veux  dire  Leur  travaille;  Joua  une  autre  ruse,  Et  fit 
dire  a  Mr.  Cambel  par  Mr.  La  Butte  d'ecrire  a  Mr.  Le 
Commandant,  ce  qu'il  allait  Luy  faire  dicte,  en  presence 
de  tous  Ces  freres  Les  frangais;  ce  que  fit  Mr.  Cambel 
qui  ne  voulait  point  deplaire  a  un  homme  dont  il  com- 
mengait  a  connaitre  La  mechancete,  cette  lettre  portrait 
que  pondiak  accordait  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  La  liberte 
de  se  retire  avec  ses  Barques  et  tous  son  monde  avec 
Seulement  ce  qu'ils  avoient  actuellement  sur  eux,  comme 
Mr.  Bellestre  Et  que  le  reste  de  leurs  Butins  tous  celuy 
des  Commergants  avec  Leurs  Marchandises  resteroient  a 
Leurs  volonte  et  que  C'etait  encore  beaucoup  qu'il  Leurs 
donnaient  La  vie  et  qu'il  Leur  promettait  qu'il  ne  Leurs 
arriveroient  aucun  mal  ny  de  la  part  de  ses  gens  et  qu'il 
repondoient  de  la  tranquillite  de  toutes  Les  autres  nations 
et  que  Si  le  Commandant  ne  voulait  pas  consentir  a  ce 
qu'il  Luy  faisait  marque  dans  cette  Lettre  qu'il  allait  faire 
recommencer  L'attaque  et  monter  a  I'assaut  et  que  s'il 
Le  prenait  en  vie  il  Le  traiterait  comme  il  font  entre  eux 


92  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

and  he  was  to  send  a  reply  to  him  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment,  and  do  it  by  some  Frenchman. 

This  letter  was  carried  by  a  Frenchman  to  the  Com- 
mandant who  read  it.  Without  being  much  disturbed  over 
the  words  of  an  Indian  he  replied  that  neither  he  nor  his 
officers  were  willing  to  spite  themselves  in  order  to  afford 
them  amusement,  inasmuch  as  by  going  away  he  ran  a  risk 
of  losing  his  life  in  his  own  country;  and  since  the  King 
had  sent  him*^  to  command  the  Fort  he  would  stay  there 
till  he  died,  and  his  threats  or  those  of  other  Indians  did 
not  disturb  him  any. 

Pontiac  who  had  flattered  himself  that  the  Commandant 
would  be  frightened  by  the  letter  which  he  had  written  to 
him,  and  had  hoped  to  have  a  chance  to  pillage  all  the  mer- 
chandise of  the  traders,  was  very  much  taken  aback  to  get 
such  a  dry  reply  from  the  Commandant,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  learn  of  the  sorties  which  the  Commandant  had 
made  to  set  fire  to  his  fortifications.  This  was  enough  to 
make  him  burst  with  chagrin,  and  he  ordered  all  his  men  to 
return  to  the  Fort  and  renew  the  attack.  They  did  this 
just  as  bravely  as  the  day  before,  but  did  not  come  so  near, 
having  now  only  two  buildings  to  hide  behind  and  they 
could  not  all  find  cover.  Some  who  were  farther  away 
fired  from  behind  the  hill  and  their  shots  passed  very  fre- 
quently over  the  Fort,  yet  the  force  of  their  fire  discon- 
certed the  English  who  were  on  nettles  all  the  time  for 
fear  of  an  assault  and  undecided  whether  to  remain  or 
embark.  The  thing  that  reassured  them  was  when  a  French- 
man who  had  lived  a  long  time  with  the  Erie  Indians  and 
had  sometimes  been  on  the  warpath  with  them,  told  them 
about  the  tactics  of  the  Indians,  and  declared  upon  his  life 
that  the  Indians  would  never  make  an  assault.  These  as- 
surances, coming  from  the  mouth  of  a  disinterested  man 
who  actually  knew  the  habits  of  the  Indians  and  their 
behavior  in  war  w^hich  he  described  in  detail  to  the  Com- 


*^Gladwin  sent  a  verbal  message  to  Pontiac  on  the  16th  in  reply  to  this  mes- 
sage. He  advised  him  to  disperse  his  people  and  take  care  of  his  ammunition  for 
hunting. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION  93 

quand  il  se  font  La  guerre  et  qu'il  eut  a  luy  faire  reponce 
au  plus  tost  et  de  le  faire  par  un  frangais. 

Cette  lettre  fut  apporte  par  un  franqais  a  Mr.  Le  Com- 
mandant qui  La  Lu  et  qui  Sans  Beaucoup  s'inquieter  d'un 
discours  sauvage,  fit  reponse  qu'il  ne  voulait  pas  ny  Luy 
ny  ses  officiers,  Se  ne  pour  Les  faires  rires,  vu  que  Leroy 
L'avait  envoye  pour  Commander  Lefort,  et  que  S'il  sen 
allait  il  courait  risque  de  perdre  Sa  vie  dans  Son  pays, 
il  y  resterait  j usque  a  la  mort  et  qu'il  s'occupait  fort 
peu  de  ses  menaces  ny  de  celle  des  autres  Sauvages. 

Pondiak  qui  s'etait  fiate  que  Le  Commandant  serait 
intimide  par  Sa  lettre,  qu'il  Luy  avait  fait  ecrire,  et  qui 
esperait  avoir  toutes  Les  Alerchandises  des  Commerqans 
en  pillage,  fut  Bien  trompe  de  voir  une  reponce  aussi  sec, 
qu'etait  celle  du  Commendant,  apprenant  en  meme  temps 
Les  Sorties  que  ce  Mr.  avoient  faits  pour  mettre  Le  feu 
a  ses  retranchements,  ce  qui  Le  facha  au  point  de  crever 
de  depit,  ordonna  a  tons  Ces  gens  de  retourne  au  fort  et 
de  recommencer  I'attaque,  ce  qu'ils  firent  aussi  fortement 
que  Le  jour  precedent,  mais  non  pas  si  proche,  n'ayant 
plus  que  deux  Batimens  pour  ce  cache,  ils  ne  pouvoient 
pas  tous  se  tenir  derriere,  d'autre  etoient  plus  Loing  qui 
tiroient  de  derriere  Le  Coteau,  Leurs  Coups  passait  Bien 
souvent  par  dessus  Lefort,  neanmoins  La  force  du  feu 
chagrina  ses  messieurs  qui  craignant  tou jours  L'assaut 
etoient  Sur  Les  epines  et  Balancoient  ou  de  reste  ou 
d'embarque,  ce  qui  Les  rassura  ce  fut  un  frangais  qui 
avait  ete  Longtemps  avec  Les  Sauvages,  les  chats,  de- 
meurant  parmi  eux  qui  avoient  ete  quelquefois  en  guerre 
avec  eux,  raconta  a  ses  Mrs.  La  manoeuvre  Sauvages,  Les 
assurant  aux  perils  de  sa  vie  que  Les  sauvages  ne  mon- 
teroient  jamais  a  Lassaut.  Ces  assurances  qui  sortaient 
de  la  bouche  d'un  homme  desinteresse  et  qui  effective- 
ment  Connaissait  Les  facons  des  Sauvages  et  qui  Scavoieiit 
Leurs  maniere  de  se  comporter  en  guerre  dont  il  fit  un 
detaille  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  Et  a  Mrs.   Les  officiers 


94  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE   OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

mandant  and  his  officers,  set  their  minds  at  rest.  The  fir- 
ing of  the  Indians  did  not  last  longer  than  seven  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  except  for  occasional  shots  discharged  at 
long  range.  Nevertheless  the  Commandant  and  all  his  offi- 
cers spent  this  night  as  they  did  the  night  before,  so  as 
not  to  be  surprised. 

The  Hurons  did  not  know  what  took  place  in  the  camp, 
not  having  been  invited  to  the  council,  and  because  they 
had  received  no  notice  they  thought  Pontiac  would  not  at- 
tack and  so  did  not  come  to  harass  the  Fort  at  all.  But 
having  found  out  that  some  traders  were  coming  with 
barges  loaded  with  m.erchandise  as  much  for  them  as  for 
the  traders  of  the  Fort,  and  with  supplies  for  the  English 
officers,  they  went  to  lie  in  wait  for  them  down  the  river. 
The  traders  who  had  no  warning  of  what  was  going  to 
befall  them,  when  they  saw  the  Indians  upon  the  shore  call- 
ing to  them,  thought  it  was  to  barter  deerskins  as  they  do 
som.etimes  and  turned  in.  The  Indians  took  them  and  tied 
them  with  belts ;  all  the  Frenchmen  in  the  barges  were  sent 
away  unharmed,  but  they  took  the  barges  with  the  traders 
and  the  English  employees  to  their  villages,  where  they 
killed  part  of  them  and  adopted  the  rest.  One  by  the 
name  of  Jacquesmane,"^^  who  acted  as  captain  of  the  barges, 
was  presented  by  the  Hurons  to  the  Pottawattamies,  who 
adopted  him  to  live  with  them  always.  The  merchandise  fell 
into  the  power  of  the  Hurons  who  were  so  occupied  with  it 
that  they  forgot  the  Fort.  There  was  some  liquor  among 
the  supplies,  and  the  Huron  women  who  feared  that  it 
would  cause  their  husbands  to  do  more  foolish  things  than 
they  had  already  done  threw  themselves  upon  the  barrels, 
knocked  in  their  heads  and  poured  out  all  the  contents,  with 
the  exception  of  a  cask  of  eight  gallons  which  an  Indian 


^Tn  the  Siege  of  Detroit  this  capture  is  recorded  on  the  13th  of  May  and  the 
trader's  name  is  given  Chapman.  Lieut.  MacDonald  also  calls  him  Chapman. 
He  came  from  Niagara  with  five  canoes  loaded  with  merchandise,  sixteen  half 
barrels  of  powder  and  some  rum.  Heckewelder  tells  a  curious  story  of  a  trader, 
Chapman,  who  may  have  been  this  man.  Chapman,  a  Jewish  trader  of  Albany, 
was  taken  by  the  Chippewas  and  destined  to  be  put  to"  death.  He  was  tied  to 
a  stake  and  fire  started  about  him.  Being  thirsty  he  begged  for  a  drink.  Hot 
broth   was   brought   to   him,   for   it  is   an   Indian  custom   not   to   refuse  a  prisoner 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  95 

Leurs  remis  I'esprit  tranquil,  Le  feu  des  Sauvages  ne  dura 
que  jusqu'a  sept  heures  du  soir,  qui  ne  tiroient  plus  que 
quelque  coup  de  Loing  en  Loing,  neanmoins  Mr,  Le  Com- 
mandant et  tous  Les  ofiiciers  passa  La  nuit  Comme  La 
precedente   pour  n'estre   point   surpris. 

Les  hurons  qui  ne  sgavoient  pas  ce  qui  Se  passoient  au 
Camp,  n'ayant  point  ete  appele  au  Conseil,  faute  d'etre 
avertis  crurent  que  pondiak  ne  fraperoit  point  ne  vinrent 
point  inquieter  Lefort,  mais  ayant  Sc^ue  qu'il  venait  des 
commer(^ant  avec  des  Berges  chargees  de  marchandises 
tant  pour  eux  que  pour  les  commercans  du  fort  avec  des 
rafraichissements  pour  Mrs.  Les  officiers  furent  audevant 
Les  attendre  dans  Le  Bas  de  la  riviere  Ses  commerqans 
qui  n'etoient  pas  prevenus  de  ce  qui  allait  Leurs  arrive 
voyant  Les  Sauvages  Sur  le  bord  de  la  greve  qui  Les 
appeloient  crurent  que  c'etait  pour  traite  du  Chevreuil 
comme  il  font  quelquefois,  furent  aeux,  ceux  cy  les  prirent 
et  Les  lierent  avec  des  colliers  et  renvoyerent  tous  Les 
frangais  qui  se  trouverent  dans  Les  Berges  Sans  Leur 
faire  aucun  mal  et  menerent  Les  Berges  avec  Les  Com- 
mercans et  Les  angages  anglais  a  Leurs  villages  ou  en 
debarquant  ils  en  tuerent  une  partie,  d'autre  furent  adopte. 
Un  nomme  Jacques  Mai  re  qui  etait  comme  Conducteur 
de  cette  Berge  fut  donne  par  les  hurons  aux  poux  en 
present  qui  L'adopterent  pour  rester  parmis  eux.  Les 
merchandises  resterent  aux  pouvoirs  des  hurons  qui 
furent  tellement  occupes  apres  qu'ils  oublierent  Le  fort 
parmis  les  merchandises  il  y  avait  de  la  boisson,  Les 
femmes  huronnes  qui  craignaient  que  cette  Boisson  ne  fit 
faire  a  Leurs  maris  de  plus  grandes  sotises  cj[ue  celles  qu'ils 
avoient  Commence  de  faire,  Se  jetterent  dessus  Les  Barils, 
Les  defoncerent  et  renverserent  tous  ce  qu'il  y  avait  de 
dans,  a  la  reserve  d'un  Baril  de  seize  pots  qu'un  Sauvage 

his  last  meal  before  death.  In  his  haste  he  scalded  himself  and  in  a  quick 
temper  threw  the  contents  of  the  bowl  in  the  face  of  the  man  who  gave  it  to 
him.  This  filled  the  Indians  with  awe,  and  believing  that  he  was  mad,  they 
immediately  released  him.  Heckewelder  further  states  that  this  fact  was  well 
known  to  the  inhabitants  at  Detroit  and  was  confirmed  by  Chapman  himself, 
who  became  an  established  merchant  at  that  place.  In  1796  there  was  a  merchant 
named  Nathaniel  Chapman  at  Detroit  who  may  have  been  the  same  man. 


96  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

rescued  from  the  hands  of  a  woman  and  hid  in  the  woods. 
He  divided  it  between  them  (the  Hurons)  and  the  Pot- 
tawattamies,  only  a  few  of  whom  drank  of  it  for  fear  that 
there  might  be  some  poison  mixed  in  it,  because  somebody 
had  given  them  to  understand  that  the  EngHsh  wished  to 
poison  them. 

May  14:.     Saturday. 

The  Indians,  who  had  tired  themselves  out  to  no  purpose 
the  night  before  in  firing  upon  the  Fort,  rested,  waiting  to 
begin  hostilities  till  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
Commandant  gave  orders  to  profit  by  this  tranquility  and 
complete  the  work  which  had  been  begun  the  day  before. 
This  was  done.  A  sergeant  sallied  out  at  the  head  of 
twenty  volunteers  from  the  troops  and  set  fire  to  two 
barns  which  had  escaped  the  preceding  night  through  fear 
of  the  Indians. 

When  the  sortie  was  accomplished  the  incendiaries  re- 
turned and  the  space  around  the  Fort  was  free.  One  could 
easily  observe  all  that  happened  from  the  stockade  of  the 
Fort  to  the  very  top  of  the  hill  which  was  a  keen  disap- 
pointment to  the  Indians,  who,  as  soon  as  they  saw  this 
expedition,  ran  to  hinder  it,  thinking  to  arrive  soon  enough, 
but  they  were  greatly  surprised  when  they  found  nothing 
which  could  protect  them  from  the  fire  of  the  Fort  except 
the  other  side  of  the  hill,  behind  which  they  stationed 
themselves  in  order  to  commence  the  same  operations  as  in 
the  two  preceding  days. 

The  English  who  were  expecting  this  were  not  surprised 
to  hear  the  battle  begin  again.  They  began  to  get  used  to 
these  tactics,  yet  feared  an  assault  in  view  of  the  warning 
a  Frenchman  from  without  gave  them  in  the  night  that  the 
Indians  would  try  an  onslaught;  and  the  behavior  of  the 
Indians  on  this  day  more  than  the  other  two  rendered  them 
almost  sure  that  such  was  their  plan. 

In  this  extremity  the  English  had  no  other  resource  but 
to  betake  themselves  to  their  vessels,  where  their  goods  had 
been  moved  the  first  day,  and  set  sail  for  Niagara.     How- 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION  97 

sauvat  de  la  main  des  femmes  qu'il  fut  cache  dans  le  bois 
Le  partagea  entre  eux  et  Les  paux  dont  il  n'y  eu  que  fort 
peu  qui  en  burent,  craignant  qu'il  n'y  eut  de  poison  mesle 
dedans  par  ce  que  L'on  Leur  avait  fait  entendre  que  Les 
anglais  voulloient  Les  empoisonne. 

14eme  May. — Le  Samedi  l-ie  May. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
La  veille  S'etoient  fatigue  inutilement  a  tire  Sur  Lefort 
se  reposoient  en  attandant  I'heur  de  recommance  L'hos- 
tilite  qui  n'etoient  guere  que  Sur  Les  dix  heures  du  matin. 
Mr.  Le  Commandant  ordonna  que  L'on  profita  de  ce  mo- 
ment de  tranquilite  pour  paracheve  L'ouvrage  qui  avait  ete 
Commence  Le  jour  precedent,  ce  qui  fut  execute,  et  pour 
cela  un  Sergent  sortis  a  la  teste  de  vingt  hommes  de 
troupe  de  bonne  volonte  Et  furent  mettre  Le  feu  a  deux 
granges  qui  avaient  echappe  La  veille  par  L'apprehension 
que  L'on  eut  des  Sauvages,  Cette  expedition  faite  Les 
incendaires  rentrerent  et  Les  dehors  du  fort  furent  libres. 
L'on  pouvait  aisement  decouvrir  tons  ce  qui  se  passaient 
depuis  Les  pieux  de  L'enceinte  du  fort  j usque  Sur  Le 
haut  du  Coteau,  ce  qui  faisait  grand  mal  au  Coeur  aux 
Sauvages,  qui  s'appergurent  de  cette  expedition  accouru- 
rent  pour  L'empecher,  craignant  encore  arrive  assez  tost, 
lis  furent  Bien  trompe,  ne  voyant  plus  rien  qui  pus  Les 
gardes  du  feu  du  fort.  Si  non  que  de  L'autre  Coste  du 
Coteau  derriere  Lequel  ils  se  mirent  pour  reCommencer 
Leurs  memes  trains  que  Les  deux  jours  precedents.  Ses 
Mrs.  qui  Si  etaient  attendue  ne  furent  point  etonne  d'en- 
tendre  recommencer  la  charge.  Commencent  a  se  faire  a 
cette  manoeuvre  et  qui  cependant  craignait  L'assaut  joint 
a  ce  que  dans  La  nuit  ils  furent  avertis  par  un  fran^ais 
de  dehors  qu'ils  voullaient  y  monter  et  Les  demarches  que 
Les  Sauvages  firent  ce  jour  plus  que  Les  deux  autres 
jours  faisoient  presque  Connaitre  qu'ils  avoient  le  dessein, 
Et  ces  Mrs.  n'avoient  pour  toute  resource  dans  cette  in- 
convenient de  Se  jetter  dans  Leurs  barques  ou  Leurs 
Butin  etoient  rendiie  des  La  premiere  Journee  et  faire 
vailie  pour  Niagara,  ce  qui  ne  fut  point,  parce  qu'il  Leurs 


98  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

ever,  this  was  not  done  because  they  were  told  that  if  they 
could  pass  this  third  day  which  was  drawing  to  a  close 
without  an  assault,  the  Indians  would  never  try  it,  for  they 
knew  well  they  would  lose  a  number  of  men  by  storming, — 
a  thing  they  greatly  feared.  The  day  passed  like  the  pre- 
ceding ones;  the  officers  stood  guard  with  their  troops  day 
and  night,  wearing  themselves  out  and  causing  their  men 
almost  to  drop  with  fatigue. 

Father  Poitier,  Jesuit  missionary  to  the  Hurons,  by  vir- 
tue of  his  calling  and  the  power  that  he  had  over  them  had 
kept  a  part  of  them,  especially  the  good  band,  within  the 
bounds  of  neutrality  by  refusing  them  the  sacrament.  In 
order  to  succeed  in  restraining  them  all,  he  needed  help,  and 
asked  Mr.  Laboise^^,  a  resident  of  the  Fort  but  who  for 
some  time  had  been  living  at  his  house,  to  be  kind  enough 
to  cross  the  river  and  invite  for  him  the  oldest  and  most 
sensible  of  the  settlers  whom  he  knew  the  Indians  loved 
and  esteemed  to  come  and  join  him  in  trying  to  arrest  the 
course  of  that  storm,  which  in  threatening  the  English, 
seemed  also  to  threaten  the  French.  This  was  done. 
These  settlers  who  knew  and  respected  the  Jesuit  father 
for  a  worthy  priest  and  regarded  him  as  a  saint  upon  earth, 
hastened  at  this  call  to  assemble  at  his  place  and  deliberate 
over  what  should  be  done  to  mollify  Pontiac,  and  what 
representation  should  be  made  to  get  him  to  end  this 
internal  war. 

After  counseling  together  the  most  respected  among  the 
French,  twelve  in  number,  went  to  the  camp  of  Pontiac, 
who  was  greatly  surprised  to  see  them  and  asked  the  occa- 
sion of  their  visit.  Seeing  he  was  of  such  an  affable  man- 
ner they  flattered  themselves  upon  their  sure  success,  and 
told  him  they  had  come  on  a  good  errand.  At  this  Pontiac 
asked  them  to  enter  the  house  of  Mr.  Baptiste  Meloche 
where  Messrs.  Campbell  and  MacDougal,  his  two  prison- 
ers, were;  he  summoned  his  chiefs  to  come  and  hear  the 

*"At  this  time  there  was  a  Joseph  Poupard  dit  Laboise  living  at  Detroit 
whose  wife  was  Agathe  Reaume. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE   CONSPIRATION  99 

flit  dit  que  S'ils  passoient  Cette  troisieme  joiirnee  qui 
tirait  a  sa  fin  Sans  assaut,  Les  Sauvages  n'y  monteroient 
jamais,  parce  qu'ils  Savaient  Bien  qu'en  montant  a  I'assaut 
ils  perdroient  du  monde  et  c'est  ce  qu'ils  craignaient  trop. 
La  journee  Se  passa  comme  Les  precedentes,  Ses  Mrs. 
faisoient  Le  quart  avec  Leurs  troupes  jour  et  nuit  Se 
fatiguoient  Beaucoup  et  les  fesoient  presque  tomber  Sur 
Les  dents. 

Le  pere  potier,  Jesuite  missionnaire  des  hurons,  qui  par 
cette  qualite  Et  par  Le  pouvoir  qu'il  a  sur  eux  en  avoit 
rammene  une  partie,  Surtout  La  Bande,  dans  Les  Bornes 
de  la  tranquilite  en  Leurs  refusant  Les  Sacrements,  Et 
qui  pour  acheve  de  Les  maintenir  tout,  avait  Besoin  d'aide, 
pria  Mr,  La  Boise,  domicilie  du  fort,  qui  pour  Lors  etoit 
chez  Luy  depuis  quelque  terns  de  voulloir  Bien  traverse 
La  riviere  et  d'aller  prie  de  sa  part  Les  plus  anciens  et 
Les  plus  Senses  des  habitans,  ceux  qu'ils  Sgavaient  estre 
aime  et  Considere  des  Sauvages  de  venir  se  joindre  a 
Luy  pour  arreste  Le  Cour  de  cette  Orage,  qui  en  mena- 
(jant  L'anglois,  paroissait  menace  Les  francais,  Ce  qu'il  fit, 
ces  derniers  qui  Connoissoient  et  respectoient  Le  pere 
Jesuite,  pour  un  tres  digne  religieux,  Le  regardoient  comme 
un  Saint  Sur  terre,  a  sa  demande  ne  furent  aucune 
difficulte  de  se  transporter  chez  Luy  et  traiterent  ensemble 
de  quelle  facon  il  fallait  se  prendre  pour  adoucir  pondiak 
et  Les  representations  qu'il  falait  Luy  faire  pour  s'engager 
a  linir  cette  guerre  intestine,  apres  cette  deliberation  Les 
francais  au  nombre  de  douze  des  plus  respectables  furent 
au  Camp  de  pondiak  qui  fut  Bien  surpris  de  les  voir  en 
Leur  demandant  Le  Sujets  de  leur  visite.  Eux  Le  croyant 
d'un  abord  sifacile,  se  flaterent  d'un  bon  succes  et  Luy 
dirent  qu'ils  venoient  pour  Les  Bonnes  affaires,  Sur  ce  mot, 
pondiak  Les  fit  entrer  dans  La  maison  de  Mr.  baptiste 
Meloche  ou  etaient  Mrs.  Cambel  et  Magdan,  Ses  deux 
prisonniers,    il    appela    Ses   chefs   pour   venir   ecoute    Les 


100  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

good  words  of  their  brothers,  the  Frenchmen.  When 
everyone  had  arrived  the  oldest  French  resident  spoke  in 
the  name  of  all  the  settlers  and  asked  Pontiac  what  his  in- 
tentions were  in  regard  to  the  war.  The  latter  replied  that 
he  had  no  other  design  than  to  expel  the  English  from  the 
Fort  and  from  their  lands  in  order  to  make  a  place  for  the 
French  com.mander,  who,  as  he  had  heard,  was  about  to 
arrive"*^.  The  French  represented  to  him  that  if  he  expected 
a  French  commander  so  soon  he  had  only  to  remain  quiet 
in  his  lodge,  for  there  would  be  time  enough  to  strike  after 
he  had  arrived.  He  replied  that  he  had  promised  to  have 
the  place  ready  for  his  Father,  and  that  he  wished  him  to 
find  it  so. 

The  Frenchmen  protested  in  vain  that  the  war  would 
ruin  them  and  prevent  them  from  going  about  their  busi- 
ness affairs,  and  they  made  use  of  the  most  telling  Indian 
terms  to  express  to  him  their  trouble.  Pontiac,  who  per- 
sisted in  the  same  views  and  was  moved  by  nothing,  an- 
swered that  in  order  to  be  the  sooner  relieved  all  they 
had  to  do  was  to  join  with  him  in  driving  out  the  English, 
after  which  they  could  retire  to  their  lands  and  wait  for 
the  French  who  were  sure  to  come.  The  settlers  replied 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  do  this,  because  they 
had  promised  to  be  loyal  to  the  English. 

And  so,  not  being  able  to  gain  anything  on  either  side, 
the  French  were  constrained  to  return  and  report  to  Father 
Poitier  who  gave  them  an  exhortation  on  the  subject  of 
the  present  calamities,  and  begged  them  to  pray  with  fervor 
to  bend  the  will  of  Heaven,  which  was  chastening  them 
through  this  war.  They  promised  to  do  this  and  all  re- 
turned to  their  homes  more  fatigued  from  their  useless 
trip  than  satisfied  with  the  success  of  their  enterprise. 

May  15.     Sunday. 

The  Indians,  who  had  spent  the  three  preceding  days 


*'It  was  repeatedly  claimed  that  the  Indians  were  encouraged  to  believe  that 
the  King  of  France  would  come  to  their  assistance.  There  were  rumors  of  an 
army  coming  through  the  Illinois  country  and  of  a  fleet  coming  by  way  of  the 
St.    Lawrence.      Among   the    Gladwin    papers  are   several    instances   of  the    French 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        101 

bonnes  paroles  de  leurs  freres  Les  frangais,  Lors  qu'il  fut 
tout  entre  Le  plus  anciens  des  frangais  pris  La  parole  au 
noms  de  tous  Les  habitans  et  demanda  a  pondiak  quelles 
etaient  Ses  intentions  dans  cette  guerre,  il  fit  reponce  qu'il 
n'en  avait  point  d'autre  que  de  chasser  Les  anglais  du  fort 
et  de  dessus  Leurs  terres  pour  faire  place  au  Commandant 
frangais,  qui  suivant  son  entende  devait  arrive  incessam- 
ment,  Les  frangois  Luy  representerent  que  puis  qu'il  at- 
tendait  Sitot  un  Commandant  frangais,  qu'il  n'avait  qu'a 
Se  tenir  tranquil  sur  Lanate  qu'il  serait  toujours  a  terns 
de  frape  quand  il  Le  voirait  arrive,  il  Leur  repondit,  qu'il 
avait  promis  La  place  Libre  a  son  pere  et  qu'il  voulait 
qu'il  La  trouva.  En  vain  Ses  Messieurs  Luy  dirent  que 
cette  guerre  Les  ruinoient  et  Les  empechoient  de  vaquer 
a  Leurs  affaires  Se  Servant  des  Expressions  Sauvages  Les 
plus  Sensibles  pour  Luy  faire  Connoitre  Leurs  peines; 
pondiak  qui  persistait  toujours  dans  le  mesmes. 
Sentimens  Et  que  rien  ne  touchait  Leur  fit  reponce 
que  pour  Estre  plustot  debarasse  il  n'avait  qu'a 
tous  Se  joindre  a  luy  pour  chasser  les  anglois  et  qu'apres 
ils  Se  retireraient  sur  Leurs  terres  en  attendant  Les  fran- 
gais qui  devait  venir,  Les  frangais  Luy  repondirent  que 
c'estoient  impossible  et  qu'il  ne  pouvait  pas  Le  faire  par 
ce  qu'ils  avoient  promis  d'estre  fidel  aux  anglais,  ainsi  ne 
pouvant  rien  gagne  de  part  ni  d'autre  Les  frangais  furent 
Contrains  de  sen  revenir  rendre  Reponse  au  pere  potier 
qui  Leurs  donna  une  exortation  sur  les  calamites  pre- 
sentes,  Les  engageans  de  prier  avec  ferveur  pour  flechir 
Le  ciel  qui  Les  chatioient  par  cette  guerre,  ce  qu'ils  promi- 
rent  de  faire  et  retournerent  chaqu'un  chez  eux  plus  fatigue 
de  Leurs  demarche  inutilles  que  Contens  du  Succes  de  leurs 
entreprises. 

15,  May. — Le  dimanche  15  de  May,  Les  Sauvages  qui 
avoient   passe   les    trois   jours   precedent   en   tems   perdiie 


helping  the  Indians.  Morris  in  his  journal  says  that  "by  French  intrigue  eight- 
een nations  have  been  united  and  have  chosen  Pontiac  as  commander."  Mich. 
Pion.  and  Hist.  Colls.,  Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  6.^1-680;  Early  Western  Travels  by 
Thwaites,   Vol.   I,  p.  305. 


102  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

doing  nothing,  resolved  to  keep  quiet  till  the  arrival  of 
reinforcements  \^hich  were  expected  from  the  Chippewas 
of  Grand  River,  and  it  was  reported  they  would  not  be 
long  in  coming;  they  thought  with  this  addition  to  their 
numbers  they  would  the  more  easily  succeed  in  their  fool- 
ish plans. 

The  English  who  had  spent  a  very  peaceful  night  and 
not  detected  any  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Indians 
thought  that  things  were  not  as  bad  as  they  had  appeared 
at  the  beginning.  The  Commandant  who  had  never  lost 
courage,  although  somewhat  uneasy,  ordered  the  garden 
of  Mr.  La  Butte  to  be  destroyed  during  this  respite.  This 
was  done  by  Mr.  Hay,  an  officer,  who  sallied  out  at  the 
head  of  forty  volunteers  and  proceeded  to  spoil  the  garden. 
The  fence  was  of  cedar  stakes  ten  feet  tall  and  enclosed 
a  quantity  of  fruit  trees  and  a  house  where  the  gardener 
lived,  a  very  great  advantage  to  the  Indians.  They  pulled 
up  the  stakes,  burnt  the  house,  cut  down  the  trees  and 
threw  them  into  the  river.  It  did  not  take  them  long  to 
do  this  and  they  returned  as  peacefully  as  they  went  out. 

One  must  not  think  the  Indians  did  not  see  them  doing 
this,  but  they  perceived  that  it  was  too  late  to  hinder  their 
shelter's  being  destroyed  and  so  kept  quiet  until  one  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  when  they  fired  a  shot  at  the  little  sloop. 
But  it  was  just  so  much  time  and  powder  wasted  for  them. 

The  English  leaders  who  up  to  the  present  had  hardly 
had  time  to  breathe,  seeing  that  it  looked  as  if  they  v  ould 
not  be  disturbed  during  the  day,  caused  half  of  the  troops 
to  rest  till  evening;  the  others  worked  to  make  the  two 
cannon  of  some  value  which  had  not  been  used  up  to  this 
time  because  of  lack  of  place  to  mount  them.  The  Com- 
mandant ordered  that  embrasures  should  be  made  on  both 
sides  of  the  big  gate  of  the  Eort  which  faced  the  high 
road  toward  the  southwest  to  receive  these  two  pieces,  one 
of   which  commanded  the  high  road,   and  the  other  the 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        103 

resoliirent  de  se  tenir  tranqnille  en  attendant  le  renfort 
qu'il  devait  Leur  venir  de  la  part  des  sauteux  de  La 
grande  riviere,  que  L'on  disait  ne  pas  tarde  a  arrive,  Es- 
perant  qu'avec  ce  monde  il  viendrait  plus  aisement  about 
de  leurs  folles  entreprises,  Ses  messieurs  qui  avait  passe 
une  nuit  fort  tranquille  Et  qui  ne  voyait  aucun  mouve- 
ment  de  la  part  des  sauvages  n'etoient  plus  si  mauvais 
qu'il  Leur  avoient  parus  dans  Le  Commencement,  Mr.  Le 
Commandant  quoy  que  inquiete  qui  n'avait  jamais  perdue 
courage  ordonna  que  pendant  cette  inaction,  Le  Jardin  de 
Mr.  Labutte  fut  detruit,  ce  qui  fut  execute  par  Mr.  he, 
officier  qui  sortis  a  la  teste  de  quarante  hommes  de  bonne 
volonte  furent  defaire  Le  jardin  dont  L'enceinte  etoient 
de  pieux  de  cedre  de  dix  pieds  de  hauts  qui  renfermait 
quantite  d'arbre  fruitiers  et  une  maison  ou  demeurait  Le 
jardinier  et  qui  etoit  une  Bien  grande  avantagc  pour  Les 
Sauvages,  ils  arracherent  Les  pieux,  Brulerent  La  maison, 
couperent  Les  arbres  et  Les  jetterent  a  la  riviere,  ce  qui 
fut  fait  en  tres  peu  de  tems,  et  rentrerent  aussi  tranquille- 
ment  qu'ils  etoient  Sortient,  ce  n'est  pas  que  Les  Sauvages 
Les  virent  bien  faire,  mais  aussi  voyant  Bien  par  eux 
mesme  qu'ils  Se  prenoient  tou jours  tard  pour  empecher 
que  L'on  ne  detruisit  Leurs  retraites,  ils  se  tinrent  tranquil 
jusque  vers  une  heur  apres  midy,  qu'ils  tirerent  quelque 
coup  Sur  La  petitte  Barque,  mais  c'etoient  pour  eux  du 
temps  et  de  la  poudre  perdiie. 

Ces  Mrs.  qui  jusque  a  present  n'avoient  eu  qu'a  peine 
Le  tems  de  respire  voyant  Bien  qu'il  y  avait  apparance 
qu'il  ne  seroit  pas  inquiete  de  la  Journe  firent  reposer  La 
motie  de  leurs  troupe  jusque  au  soir,  d'autre  travaillerent 
a  rendre  utille  Les  deux  pieces  de  Canon  qui  Jusque  icy 
n'avoient  pus  Servient  faute  de  place  pour  Les  mettre  et 
pour  cela  Mr.  Le  Commandant  ordonna  que  des  deux 
coste  de  la  grande  porte  du  fort  qui  fesait  face  au  grand 
chemin  du  coste  du  Sorouest  il  fut  fait  deux  embrasures 
pour  place  ses  deux  pieces,  une  de  chaque  coste  dont  une 
Batois  sur  Le  Grand  chemin  et  L'autre  dans  Les  champs 


104  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

fields  and  the  house  of  Mr.  Jacques   St.   Martin^^   in  the 
same   direction. 

May  16.     Monday. 

The  Commandant  who  had  known  that  the  good  band 
of  the  Hurons  had  withdrawn  from  the  plot  through  the 
efforts  of  Father  Poitier,  their  missionary,  and  had  gone 
to  another  locality  so  as  not  to  be  concerned  in  it  any  more, 
resolved  to  give  the  bad  band  reason  to  repent  of  their 
foolishness  by  sending  the  big  sloop  to  cannonade  and  set 
on  fire  their  villages  if  it  was  possible,  and  to  do  the  same 
to  the  Pottawattamies  while  on  the  way. 

The  expedition  was  put  in  charge  of  Capt.  Hopkins  who 
with  Mr.  Hay,  an  officer,  and  ten  soldiers  and  a  trader 
embarked  in  the  big  sloop.  The  wind  having  turned  into 
the  east  seemed  to  wish  to  favor  them  in  this  enterprise. 
They  lifted  anchor  to  drop  down  to  the  right  of  the  two 
villages,  but  had  not  made  a  third  of  a  mile  before  the 
wind  changed  to  the  south  and  came  on  to  blow,  and  they 
had  it  for  the  once  almost  ahead.  It  was  necessary  to 
tack  in  order  to  run  where  they  wanted  to  go,  and  this 
they  did. 

This  maneuver  frightened  the  French  settlers  who  for 
the  most  part  did  not  understand  it,  for  they  believed  that 
the  English  had  a  grudge  against  them  and  that  the  vessel 
was  dropping  down  the  river  only  to  lay  waste  their  shores 
and  set  fire  to  their  houses.  This  last  they  could  not  have 
done,  not  having  any  forge  on  board.  Nevertheless,  there 
were  some  who  went  to  hide  their  goods  in  ditches  in  their 
fields,  and  others  who  concealed  theirs  in  the  woods.  Other 
Frenchmen  who  understood  the  movements  of  the  boat 
came  and  reassured  them,  showing  them  the  unreasonable- 
ness of  their  fears;  but  the  thing  that  reassured  them  more 
was  an  accident  which  happened  to  the  boat  and  would 
have  caused  its  absolute  destruction  if  there  had  been  any 
Indians  around.      The  wind  which  kept  getting  stronger 


^^Jacques  Baudry  dit  Desbuttes  dit  St.  Martin  was  the  official  interpreter  of 
the  Hurons  at  Detroit.  He  was  a  mercnant  and  lived  on  the  coast  southwest 
of    the   fort.      During   the   siege   he   moved   into   the   town    and   lived   on    St.   Joseph 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        105 

et   Sur  la   Maison   de   Mr.   Jacques   St.   Martin,   Sur  La 
mesme  face. 

16e  May. — Le  Lundy  16e  May. — Mr.  Le  Commandant 
qui  avait  Sgu  que  La  Bonne  bande  des  hurons  S'etoient 
retire  de  la  Cabale  par  I'entremise  du  pere  poitier,  Leurs 
missionaires,  et  que  pour  n'y  estre  plus  engage  S'etoient 
eloigne  dans  un  autre  Canton,   resold  de  donner  sujet  a 
la  Mauvaise  Bande  de  se  repentir  de  leur  Sotises  en  en- 
voyant  La  grosse  Barque  ravager  Leurs  Villages  a  Coup 
de  Canon  et  y  mettre  Le  feu,  S'il  etait  possible  Et  d'en 
faire  autant  chez  Les  paux,  en  chemin  fesant.     Cette  ex- 
pedition fut  mise  entre  Les  mains  de  Mr.  hobquince,  cap- 
taine,  qui  avec  Mr.   he,  officier,  dix  Soldats  et  un  Com- 
merqant   s'embarquerent   dans   la  grosse   barque,   Le   vent 
Semblait  Les  vouloir  favorise  dans  cette  entreprise  S'etant 
mis  a  L'ess,  ils  Leverent  L'ancre  pour  dessendre  audroit 
des  deux  villages,  ils  n'urent  pas  faits  un  demie  quart  de 
Lieu  que  Le  vent  changea  et  Semit  au  Sud  en  augmentant, 
Et  ils  avoient  pour  Lors  Le  vent  presque  devant  il  falait 
qu'il  couru  La  borde  pour  se  rendre  ou  il  voullaient  aller, 
et  ce  qu'il  firent  aussi,  ces  manoeuvres  que  Les  habitans 
ne   Connaissoient   pas   pour  La   pluspart   Les   effrayerent 
Croyant  que   Ces   Mrs.    en  voullaient  a   eux,   Et   que  La 
Barque  ne  dessendoient  que  pour  ravager  Les  Costes.     Et 
mettre  Le  feux  aux  maisons,  ce  qui  ne  pouvoient  pas  se 
faire  n'ayant  point  de  forge  abord  Cependant  il  y  en  eus 
qui  furent  cache  Leurs  Butin  dans  les  fosses,  au  milieu  des 
terres,  d'autre  dans  le  Bois,  ce  que  d'autre  frangais  Con- 
naisseur  des  mouvemens  de  la  Barque  ayant  Les  vinrent 
rassure  Leur  faisant  connaitre  L'impossibilite  de  leurs  ap- 
prehension,   ce    qui    Les    rassura    davantage,    ce    fut    un 
Evenement  qui  arriva  a  la  Barque  qui  aurait  Cause  totale- 
ment  sa  perte,  S'il  y  avait  eu  des  Sauvages  a  proximite. 
Le  vent  qui  reforcissait  toujours  n'etait  plus  favorable  a 


street.  He  was  born  at  Quebec,  Aug.  23,  1733,  married  at  Detroit  Oct.  28,  1760, 
to  Marie  Anne  Navarre,  daughter  of  Robert  Navarre,  and  was  buried  at  Detroit 
June  18,   1768.     Denissen's  Genealogies  MMS. 


106  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

was  no  longer  favorable  to  the  vessel,  still  the  English  who 
were  absolutely  bent  on  reaching  the  two  villages  held  up 
to  the  wind,  tacking  from  one  shore  to  the  other.  As  they 
were  coming  about  in  order  to  stand  out  again,  there  came 
a  puff  of  wind  which  filled  the  sails  and  stranded  the  sloop 
about  twenty  feet  from  shore  and  five-eighths  of  a  mile 
from  the  Fort.  There  they  were  almost  on  shore  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  and  at  great  risk  they  had  to  carry  out  an 
anchor  two  hundred  feet  into  the  river  in  order  to  work 
themselves  afloat.  They  succeeded  and  returned  to  the 
anchorage  where  they  had  started  from,  very  well  pleased 
at  having  escaped  the  clutches  of  the  Indians,  for  it  is  cer- 
tain that  ten  Indians  could  have  captured  the  boat  in  the 
situation  in  which  it  was  in  spite  of  any  defense  they  could 
have  made,  and  their  imprudence  would  have  cost  them 
dear. 

There  were  Indians  enough,  indeed,  who  beheld  the  ves- 
sel from  a  distance  and  came  to  attack  it,  but  when  they 
arrived  it  was  too  late;  and  they  could  console  themselves 
with  this  proverb :    "The  wolf  escapes  when  the  dog  stops 

to ."     However,  the  rage  they  felt  at  having  missed 

a  chance  so  favorable  led  them  to  come  and  open  fire  on 
the  Fort  from  about  two  P.  M.  till  six,  but  without  killing 
as  much  as  a  fly.  The  French  who  had  remained  in 
the  Fort  drew  water  from  the  wells  and  filled  the  vessels 
calculated  to  receive  it. 

May  17.     Tuesday. 

Pontiac  who  had  not  taken  care  in  the  beginning  of  the 
war  to  lay  in  any  provisions  for  the  sustenance  of  his 
warriors,  was  obliged  to  resort  to  fraud  in  order  to  live, 
— he  and  all  his  followers.  To  this  end  he  and  four  chiefs 
of  his  nation  visited  all  the  settlers  of  the  shores  to  levy 
contributions  of  food,  saying  they  could  give  voluntarily 
or  under  compulsion, — if  not  they  would  have  their  live 
stock  killed,  a  thing  which  was  already  begun.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  there  were  settlers  who  were  already  feeding 
as  many  as  twenty  Indians,  this  did  not  keep  them  from 
committing  depredations. 


JOURNAL    OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        107 

la  barque,  Cependant  ses  Mrs.  qui  voullaient  absolument 
aller  aux  deux  village,  voguaient  a  L'encontre  du  vent, 
Courant  La  horde  d'une  terre  a  I'autre,  Comme  ils  voul- 
laient vire  de  Bord  pour  S'elever  au  Large  il  vint  une 
Boufe  de  vent  qui  pris  dans  Les  voilles  Sur  tout  Sens,  fit 
echouer  La  barque  a  environ  vingt  pied  de  terre  et  a  un 
quart  de  Lieu  du  fort,  ils  y  furent  Bien  L'espace  d'un 
quart  d'heure  presque  sur  le  Cote,  ils  furent  Contraint  au 
risque  de  peril,  d'aller  jeter  un  ancre  a  un  arpent  au  Large 
pour  se  dechouer  a  force  de  travaille  ils  en  vinrent  about 
et  retournerent  mouille  d'ou  ils  etaient  partis  Bien  Con- 
tens  d'avoir  echappe  de  la  grife  des  Sauvages,  car  il  est 
certain  que  dans  La  Situation  ou  etait  La  barque,  dix 
Sauvages  fesoient  Leurs  affaires  sans  qu'ils  pussent  se 
deffendre,  et  ils  auroient  paye  Bien  cher  Leurs  impru- 
dences, il  y  exit  Bien  des  Sauvages  qui  S'en  appergurent 
de  Loing  et  qui  vinrent  pour  foncer  dessus,  mais  ils  ar- 
riverent  qu'il  n'etait  plus  temps,  et  ils  pouvaient  dire  ce 
proverbe;  pendant  que  Le  chien  chie,  Le  Loup  S'en  va, 
mais  La  Collere  ou  ils  etaient  d'avoir  manque  un  Coup  si 
favorable,  Les  fit  venir  sur  Les  Deux  heures  apres  midy 
tire  sur  Lefort  jusque  a  Six  heures  du  soir  Sans  pent 
estre  avoir  tue  une  mouche  a  cette  heure.  Les  frangais 
qui  etoient  reste  dans  le  fort  chariait  de  Lean  des  puis 
dans  Les  vaisseaux  destine  a  la  recevoir. 

17e  May,  Le  Mardy  17e  de  May. — Pondiak  qui  en 
commengant  cette  guerre  n'avait  pas  eix  soin  de  faire  des 
provisions  pour  la  Subsistance  de  ses  guerriers  fut  oblige 
d'avoir  recour  a  la  Supercherie  pour  vivre,  Luy  et  tout 
son  monde,  pour  cela  il  fut  avec  quatre  chef  de  sa  nation 
en  contrainte  chez  tous  Les  habitans  dans  Les  Coste  pour 
Leurs  demander  des  vivres  de  bonne  volonte  ou  de  force 
ou  bien  qu'ils  tueroient  Les  animaux  domestique  ce  qu'ils 
avaient  deja  Commence  de  faire.  Bien  que  cependant  il 
y  avoient  des  habitans  qui  en  nourissoient  jusqu'a  vingt 
et  cela  n'empechait  pas  qu'ils  ne  fissent  du  degas.  Les 
habitans  qui  craignoient  que  Les  Sauvages  ne  se  bandas- 
sent  contre  eux,  accorderent  a  la  demande  des  chefs  et 


108  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

The  settlers  who  feared  that  the  Indians  would  combine 
against  them  agreed  to  the  demand  of  the  chiefs,  and  each 
one  supported  the  savages  who  lived  in  his  vicinity :  Pon- 
tiac  and  his  people  derived  their  supplies  from  the  north 
shore,  Ninivois  and  the  Pottawattamies  from  the  south- 
west, and  the  Hurons  from  the  east  and  south. 

About  ten  o'clock,  when  each  nation  had  looked  after 
the  food  supplies,  the  chiefs  of  all  the  nations  met  at 
Pontiac's  camp  and  deliberated  as  to  how  the  Frenchmen 
outside  the  Fort  might  be  kept  from  entering,  and  those 
inside  from  coming  out;  they  did  this  because  they  said 
those  from  within  carried  to  the  outside  information  of 
what  happened  inside,  and  those  on  the  outside  carried  to 
the  Fort  what  passed  without,  and  all  this  did  not  result 
in  any  good.  Their  reasoning  was  not  bad,  because  actu- 
ally there  were  some  French  who  sowed  dissension  under 
the  pretext  of  wishing  to  restore  harmony  between  the  two 
parties.  It  was  therefore  concluded  in  the  council  that 
there  should  be  a  guard  of  twenty  men  from  the  two  na- 
tions at  each  side  of  the  Fort  who  should  guard  the 
approaches  of  the  two  sides  in  order  to  hinder  the  going 
and  coming  of  people,  and  that  those  who  tried  to  pass 
in  spite  of  them  should  be  fired  upon.  What  was  agreed 
upon  was  done.  Some  Frenchmen  who  wanted  to  try  to 
pass  came  within  one  of  getting  shot.  In  the  course  of 
the  afternoon  there  was  some  firing  on  both  sides,  but  no 
harm  done. 

May  18.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  who  were  occupied  with  a  plan  that  they 
had  pondered  on  for  some  time,  namely,  to  send  a  mes- 
sage to  Mr.  De  Leon^*^  among  the  Illinois,  neglected  the 
Fort  for  the  whole  day.  Pontiac  had  all  the  chiefs  and 
leading  men  of  each  nation  assemble  for  a  council,  and 
he  sent  messengers  to  all  the  oldest  of  the  French  settlers 
and  to  those  he  knew  to  invite  them  to  the  council,  to 


™Peter  Joseph  Neyeon  de  Villiere  Succeeded  Capt.  Macarty  in  the  command 
of  Fort  Chartres,  which  he  held  until  June  15,  1764,  when  he  received  the  Cross 
of  St.  Louis  as  a  reward  for   his  fidelity  and  services. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        109 

chaqu'un  nourrissaient  par  ensemble  Les  Sauvages  qui 
etoient  de  leurs  Coste,  de  sorte  que  pondiak  et  ses  gens 
tiroient  Leurs  Subsistance  dans  La  Coste  du  Nord,  inni- 
v^ois  et  Les  poux  tiroient  dans  la  Coste  du  sorouest,  et 
Les  hurons  dans  Les  Costes  de  L'est  et  du  Sud. 

Sur  Les  dix  heures  apres  que  chaque  nation  eu  pourvu 
au  besoin  de  la  bouche  tous  Les  chefs  de  chaque  nation 
S'assemblerent  au  Camp  de  pondiak  et  tinrent  Conseil 
entre  eux  pourque  aucune  personne  frangais  de  dehors 
Lefort  ne  fussent  dedans  et  que  Ceux  du  dedans  ne 
sortissent  point  pour  aller  dehors,  parce  que  disoient  ils 
ceux  du  dedans  raportent  dehors  ce  qui  se  passent  et 
ceux  du  dehors  raportent  au  dedans  ce  qui  se  passent  au 
Camp  et  que  cela  ne  faisait  aucun  bon  effet  et  Leurs 
raisons  n'etoient  pas  mauvaise  parce  que  il  y  avait  effective- 
ment  des  frangais  qui  sous  pretexte  de  voulloir  mettre  Le 
bon  accord  entre  Les  deux  parties  y  mettait  La  dissention, 
il  fut  done  conclu  dans  Le  Conseil,  qu'il  y  aurait  aux 
deux  Bout  du  fort  une  garde  de  vingt  des  deux  nations 
qui  garderoient  chacun  de  leurs  Cote  Les  passages  pour 
empecher  d'aller  et  de  venir  et  que  ceux  qui  voudroient 
passe  malgre  eux  ils  feroient  feux  sur  eux,  ce  qui  fut  dit 
fut  fait,  il  y  eut  des  frangais  qui  voullurent  tente  a  passe, 
peu  S'en  falia  qu'il  n'en  fusent  La  dupe,  dans  Le  Courant 
de  L'apres  midy  il  y  eu  quelque  coup  de  tire  de  part  et 
d'autre  Sans  faire  aucun  mal. 

18e  May. — Le  mercredy  18e  May. — Les  Sauvages  oc- 
cupe  d'un  dessein  qu'ils  avoient  premedite  depuis  quelques 
jours,  d'envoyer  aux  Illinois  vers  Mr,  Leon  oublierent  Le- 
fort pour  toute  Cette  journee,  pondiak  fit  assemble  tous 
Les  chefs  et  Les  Considere  de  chaque  nation  pour  tenir 
Conseil  et  envoya  des  emissaires  chez  tous  Les  plus  anciens 
des  frangais  et  ceux  qui  Connaissaient  pour  Les  Convies 
a  venir  au  Conseil  Les  deux  officiers  qui  etaient  prison- 
niers   chez  eux   furent   admis,  tous   Le   monde   rassemble 


110  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

which  the  two  officers  who  were  prisoners  among  them 
were  admitted.  When  everybody  had  come  Pontiac  took 
a  war-belt,  and  addressing  all  said: 

"My  brothers,  you  are  ignorant  of  the  reasons  which 
have  induced  me  to  act,  although  I  have  spared  no  pains 
to  keep  you  informed  of  my  sentiments.  But  as  I  fear 
that  our  Father  will  not  come  and  take  possession  of  the 
Fort  soon  enough  after  I  have  expelled  or  killed  the  Eng- 
lish, and  that  the  Indians  may  insult  you  if  there  is  no 
commandant  here  to  obviate  this  difficulty,  I  have  resolved 
to  send  to  the  Illinois  some  of  our  French  brothers  with 
some  Indians  to  carry  our  war-belts  and  our  words  to  our 
Father,  Mr.  De  Leon,  and  ask  him  to  send  us  a  French 
officer  for  a  commander  to  guide  us  and  replace  the  Eng- 
lish. You,  my  brothers,  will  do  me  a  pleasure  to  write 
to  our  Father  in  this  matter,  joining  your  words  to  mine." 

He  at  once  had  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  De  Leon  in  the 
presence  of  these  two  English  officers,  telling  about  the 
council  and  all  the  reasons  which  had  induced  him  to 
act,  just  as  I  have  described  in  the  beginning  of  this  narra- 
tive. To  this  was  added  a  letter^ ^  from  the  French  who 
earnestly  begged  Mr.  De  Leon  in  view  of  the  present  cir- 
cumstances to  restrain  the  tribes. 

When  these  letters  w^ere  finished  Pontiac  who  presided 
over  everything  named  the  two  Frenchmen^^  and  the  two 
Indians  whom  he  wanted  to  carry  the  letters  and  his  words, 
at  the  same  time  telling  them  that  they  should  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  depart  the  next  morning,  and  that 
those  who  wanted  to  go  along,  either  French  or  Indian, 


"The  letter  from  the  Frenchmen:  "Gentlemen:  We  are  obliged  to  submit 
to  what  the  Indians  exact  from  us;  the  English  are  blocked  up,  and  all  the 
passages  are  shut  up;  we  cannot  express  to  you  our  perplexity.  It  would  be 
necessary,  in  order  to  judge  of  the  calamities  which  threaten  us  and  which  appear 
to  us  inevitable,  that  you  saw  with  your  own  eyes  what  is  going  on  here.  God 
alone  can  prevent  our  becoming  the  victims  of  the  English  and  Savages.  These 
Ccuriers  bear  to  you  the  talks  of  the  Nations  here.  We  look  upon  it  as  a 
happiness  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  acquaint  you  of  our  deplorable  situation. 
We  certainly  never  have  contributed  thereto  by  our  conduct;  the  English  on 
their  part  never  gave  us  occasion.  Instruct  us  what  we  can  do.  We  look  upon 
you  as  Protectors  and  Mediators  who  would  be  willing  to  employ  themselves 
efKcaciously  to  pacify  two  contending  parties  who  threaten  us  with  an  unexem- 
plary  Desolation."  Copy  of  a  letter  sent  by  the  inhabitants  of  Detroit,  directed 
to  the  Gentlemen  Commandants  of  the  Illinois.  Mich.  Pion.  and  Hist.  Colls. 
Vol.  XXVII,  p.  645. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        111 

pondiak  pris  un  Collier  de  guerre  et  dit  parlant  a  tous; 
mes  freres  vous  ignorez  Les  causes  qui  m'ont  fait  agir  Je 
nay  rien  epargne  pour  vous  faire  connaitre  mes  Sentimens, 
mais  comme  je  crains  que  notre  pere  nesoit  pas  assez 
tost  venus  pour  prendre  possession  du  fort,  Lorsque 
jauray  chasse  ou  tue  Les  anglais,  et  que  restant  Sans  Com- 
mendant,  nos  freres  Les  Sauvages  ne  vous  fassent  insulte, 
pour  obvier  a  cette  inconvenient  Jay  resolue  d'envoyer  aux 
Illinois  de  nos  freres  Les  frangois  avec  des  sauvages  porter 
nos  Colliers  et  nos  paroles  a  notre  pere  Mr.  De  Leon  pour 
Luy  demander  qu'il  nous  envoye  un  Commandant,  officier 
frangois  pour  nous  conduire  et  pour  prendre  La  place 
des  anglais,  Vous  autres,  mes  freres  vous  me  ferez  plaisir 
d'ecrire  a  se  Sujet  a  nostre  pere,  joignant  vos  paroles  aux 
nostre,  tout  de  suite  il  fit  venir  un  ecrivain  pour  ecrire  a 
Mr.  Leon,  En  presence  de  ses  deux  Mrs.  Le  Conseil  et 
toutes  Les  raisons  qui  Le  fasait  agir  qui  n'etoient  autre 
chose  que  ce  que  Jay  dit  cy  dessus  dans  Le  Commence- 
mens  de  cette  ecris  auquel  etait  Joint  une  Lettre  de  la 
part  des  francais  qui  prioient  instamment  Mr.  Deleon  vii, 
Les  Circonstance  presentes  d'arrester  Les  nations,  tous 
les  ecris  finis  de  part  et  d'autre.  Pondiak  qui  presidait 
a  tous,  nomma  Les  deux  frangais  et  Les  deux  Sauvages 
par  cjui  il  voullait  que  Les  Lettres  et  Les  paroles  furent 
porte  Leurs  disant  cju'ils  eussent  a  Se  tenir  prest  a  partir 
Le  Lendemain  matin  et  que  ceux  qui  voudroient  estre 
du  voyage,  frangais  et  Sauvage  pouvait  parle  qu'il  ne  Les 


''"Jacques  Godfrey,  Miny  Chesne,  Messrs.  Beaubien,  Chauvin,  Labadie  and  a 
party  of  Indians  started  out  to  deliver  the  Indian  and  French  letters.  When 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  River  they  overtook  a  trader  named  Welch,  whom 
they  captured  and  after  participating  in  the  taking  of  Fort  Miami,  sent  their 
prisoner  and  booty  back  to  Detroit,  where  they  were  lodged  at  the  house  of 
Miny  Chesne,  near  the  Pottawattamie  village.  Miny  Chesne  was  a  brother  of 
Isedore  Chesne.  Godfrey  and  Miny  Chesne  were  both  made  prisoners  after  the 
siege  and  a  court  of  inquiry  held  to  investigate  their  actions  during  the  siege. 
Godfroy  won  his  freedom  by  acting  as  guide  and  interpreter  for  Morris  in  17(j4. 
Chesne,  who  from  St.  Anne's  Church  Records  appears  to  be  Leopold  Chesne, 
son  of  Charles  and  Catharine  Sauvage,  also  gained  his  freedom  as  he  did  not 
die   until   Jan.    13,   1778.      Gladwin   MMS.,  p.   658. 

Miny  Chesne:  He  had  two  Indian  wives,  an  Ottawa  and  a  Sauteuse.  By 
the  latter  he  had  a  son,  Charles,  who  was  baptized  Oct.  25,  1775.  Chesne 
lived  on  a  farm  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Detroit  River.  This  farm  was  granted 
to  him  by  Pontiac,  Sept.  17,  1765,  and  lay  east  of  the  land  granted  to  George 
McDougall.     Register's  Office  of  Detroit,   Vol.  A,  p.  128. 


112  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

might  announce  themselves  and  he  would  not  prevent  them, 
and  he  would  have  the  settlers  give  them  all  that  they 
would  need  for  the  expedition. 
May  19.     Thursday. 

Pontiac  who  believed  that  Mr.  De  Leon  vv^ould  be  able 
to  furnish  a  commander  in  reply  to  his  demand  had  noth- 
ing else  to  do  the  next  morning  but  supply  the  needs  of 
those  whom  he  was  sending  away.  He  helped  them  em- 
bark and  told  them  to  go  and  wait  for  him  below  the  fort 
at  the  mill,  and  he  would  make  the  rounds  of  the  region 
to  get  them  provisions.  This  he  did,  going  from  house  to 
house  demanding  of  each  one,  according  to  his  ability,  food 
and  ammunition  for  the  messengers  so  as  to  enable  them 
to  depart  promptly.  When  all  the  outfit  for  the  trip  was 
delivered  to  the  men,  they  set  out  for  the  Illinois  about 
ten  o'clock. 

As  soon  as  the  messengers  had  gone  Pontiac  returned 
to  his  camp  and  commanded  his  young  men  to  go  and 
amuse  themselves  by  harassing  the  vessels,  because  he  knew 
well  enough  that  they  could  not  do  them  any  great  harm. 
They  did  this  till  toward  five  o'clock  when  they  got  tired 
of  shooting,  and  returned  to  the  camp  in  order  to  rest 
from  their  useless  labor. 
May  20.     Friday. 

The  Commandant  who  had  a  plan  to  send  one  of  the 
sloops  to  Niagara  to  hasten  the  arrival  of  reinforcements 
which  he  had  been  expecting  for  a  long  time  gave  orders 
to  Mr.  Le  Grand^^,  appointed  judge  in  place  of  Mr.  St. 
Cosme^^,  that  all  the  French  in  the  Fort  should  pick  up  the 
stones  which  they  might  find  in  the  streets  and  carry  them 
to  the  edge  of  the  river  to  ballast  the  vessel  which  was 
about  to  sail.  The  boats  changed  places  and  the  soldiers 
put  the  stones  on  board  the  little  sloop. 

^^Gabriel  Christopher  LeGrand,  son  of  Gabriel  Louis  Legrand,  Sieur  of  Sintre, 
Vicomte  of  Mortain,  and  Ann  Henrietta  Catherine  de  Crenay,  of  noble  parent- 
age, who  lived  at  Roche,  diocese  of  Avranches,  in  Normandy,  France,  enlisted 
in  the  French  army,  in  the  company  of  De  Boune,  came  to  Detroit,  where  he 
was  a  surgeon  major  at  the  Post.  He  married  here  April  17,  1758,  Marie  Mag- 
delene  Chapoton.  She  died  Jan.  7,  1763,  when  they  were  living  in  the  village 
on  St.  Jacques  street.  Gabriel  married  a  Second  time  on  July  26,  1764,  Veron- 
ica Reaume,  daughter  of  Peter  Reaume,  who  lived  on  the  south  side  of  the  river. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        113 

empescherait  point  qu'il  Leurs  ferait  donner  par  I-es 
habitans  tous  ce  qui  Leurs  Seraient  necessaires  pour  Leurs 
voyages. 

19,  May. — Le  Jeudy  19  May. — Pondiak  qui  croyais  que 
Mr.  Deleon,  aurait  a  sa  demande  un  Commandant,  n'eut 
rien  de  plus  presse  des  Le  matin  que  de  pourvoir  au 
Besoin  de  ceux  qu'ils  fesait  partir  il  Les  fit  embarque  et 
Leur  dit  d'aller  L'attendre  au  dessous  du  fort  au  moulin 
et  qui  allait  dans  Les  Costes  pour  Leurs  faire  avoir  des 
vivres,  ce  qu'il  fit,  il  fut  de  maison  en  maison  pour  de- 
mander  a  chacun  Selon  son  moyen  des  vivres  et  munitions 
pour  ses  Courriers  affin  de  les  faire  partir  promptement, 
tout  le  necessaire  du  voyage  delivre  aux  voyageurs,  ils 
partir  vers  Les  dix  heurs  pour  Les  Illinois. 

Les  Couriers  partis,  pondiak  retourna  a  son  Camp  et 
Commanda  a  ses  jeunes  gens  d'aller  Se  devertir  Sur  Les 
Barques  seulement  pour  Les  inquieter,  parce  qu'ils  etait 
Bien  prevenus  qu'ils  ne  pouvoient  pas  Leurs  faire  grand 
mal  ce  qu'ils  firent  jusque  a  vers  les  Cinq  heures  du  Soir, 
qu'ils  se  lasserent  de  tire  et  retournerent  a  leurs  Camps 
Se  repose  des   fatigues  inutilles  qu'ils  s'etoient  donne. 

20e  May. — Le  vendredy  20e  May. — Mr.  Le  Comman- 
dant qui  avoient  dessein  de  faire  partir  une  des  Barques 
pour  Niagara,  et  pour  favorise  L'arrive  du  secours  qu'il 
attendoient  de  jours  en  jours  depuis  longtemps,  donna 
ordre  a  Mr.  Le  Grand  Substitue  Juge  a  la  place  de  Mr. 
St.  Cosme  que  tous  Les  frangais  qui  etaient  dans  Le  fort 
ramassassent  Les  pieres  qu'ils  trouveroient  dans  Les  rues 
et  Les  mener  au  bord  de  la  riviere  pour  Lester  La  Barque 
qui  devait  partir,  elles  changerent  de  place  L'une  L'autre 
et  toutes  Les  pierres  furent  menees  a  la  petite  Barque  par 
La  troupe,  Cette  journee  se  passa  Sans  aucune  hostilite 
de  part  et  d'autre. 

He  served  for  some  time  as  a  notary  in  Detroit  and  later  went  to  Kaskaskia, 
where  he  served  in  the  same  capacity  and  succeeded  in  getting  the  land  titles  so 
badly  mixed  up  that  the  land  commissioners  made  loud  complaints  of  his  ineffi- 
ciency.     Denissen   Genealogies,    MMS.,    C.    M.   Burton's   History   of  Detroit. 

^'Pierre  Laurence  Cosme  (or  St.  Cosme)  resided  in  Detroit  on  St.  Jacques 
street.  He  was  born  at  Laprairie,  Lower  Canada,  Oct.  30,  1721;  married  at 
Detroit  to  Catherine  Lortman  dit  Barrois,  Jan.  25,  1747,  and  was  buried  at 
Detroit   Sept.    21,    1787. 


114  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

The  day  passed  without  any  hostility  on  either  side. 

May  21.     Saturday. 

At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  little  sloop  sailed 
from  in  front  of  the  Fort  for  the  entrance  to  Lake  Erie 
in  order  to  discover  if  the  expected  reinforcements  were 
coming.  She  was  ordered  to  stay  there  a  week,  recon- 
noitering,  in  order  to  expedite  the  arrival  of  reinforce- 
ments, and  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  go  on  to  Niagara. 

The  Indians  either  from  laziness  or  from  contempt  did 
not  approach  to  fire  on  the  Fort  or  the  vessel  at  all  during 
the  whole  day.  About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  it  was 
learned  through  a  Frenchman  who  had  sallied  out  that 
Sekahos^^,  great  chief  of  the  Chippewas  of  Grand  River, 
had  arrived  in  response  to  Pontiac's  demand  with  one  hun- 
dred twenty  men  of  his  band. 

May  22.     Sunday;  Whitsunday. 

During  the  whole  of  this  sacred  day  there  was  a  violent 
wind  and  a  downpour  of  rain  which  caused  both  sides  to 
remain  quiet. 

May  23.     Monday. 

The  weather  of  the  morning  which  had  not  cleared  up 
from  the  day  before  kept  the  Indians  quiet.  The  Com- 
mandant who  was  suspicious  of  them  and  foresaw  that 
the  tranquility  would  not  last  long,  having  been  warned, 
besides,  to  be  on  his  guard  against  any  surprise,  ordered 
that  the  iron  and  steel  in  the  warehouse  should  be  used  to 
make  tomahawks,  daggers,  spears,  hooks,  with  which  to 
arm  his  soldiers  against  an  assault  in  case  the  Indians 
should  want  to  attempt  one.  Two  French  blacksmiths  in 
the  Fort  did  this  work. 

About  four  P.  M.  a  rumor  reached  the  Fort  and  got  to 
the  officers  that  the  Indians  intended  to  set  fire  to  the 
Fort  and  the  stockade,  and  the  houses  within,  by  means 
of  fire  arrows.  Hov/ever,  they  could  not  possibly  do  this, 
fortunately    not   having   any   of   the   necessary   materials. 


^^In  the  French  original  this  name  appears  Cekaos.  Schoolcraft  spelled  it 
Cekaas  and  it  appears  elsewhere,  Chckahos.  Sekahos  lived  on  the  Grand  or 
Thames   River   and   the  rest   of   his   band  arrived   on   June   9th. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        115 

21e  May. — Le  Samedy  21e  May. — A  onze  heures  du 
matin  La  petite  Barque  partis  de  devant  Le  fort  pour  aller 
a  L'entre  du  Lac  Errier  pour  decouvir  Si  Le  renfort  que 
Se  Messieur  attendoient  venait,  elle  avait  ordre  d'y  reste 
huit  jours  en  decouverte  pour  favorise  L'arrive  du  renfort 
et  au  bout  des  huit  jours,  faire  route  pour  Niagara.  Les 
Sauvages  soit  par  paresse  ou  par  mepris  ne  vinrent  point 
tire  de  la  Journee  ni  Sur  le  fort  ni  Sur  La  Barque,  Sur 
Les  Cinq  heures  du  soir  L'on  Sgu  dans  Le  fort  par  un 
frangais  qui  avait  Sortis  que  Ce  Kaos,  grand  chef  des 
Sauteux  de  la  grande  riviere  etait  arrive  a  la  demande  de 
pondiak  avec  cent  vingt  hommes  de  sa  bande. 

22e  May. — Le  dimanche  22  May. — Le  jour  de  la  pente- 
coste  toute  La  Sainte  Journee  un  vent  impetueux  et  une 
pluie  averse  qui  fut  cause  de  tranquilite  depart  «t  d'autre. 

23e  May.— -Le  Lundy  23e  May.— Le  matinee  qui  Se 
Sentis  du  mauvais  terns  de  La  journee  precedente  fit  que 
Les  Sauvages  furent  tranquille,  pendant  ce  terns.  Mr. 
Le  Commandant  qui  etoient  en  deffiance  contre  eux  et  qui 
prevoyait  que  La  tranquillite  ne  serait  pas  de  Longue  dure, 
joint  a  ce  qu'il  etait  prevenu,  qu'il  etait  Soufle  pour  se 
mettre  en  dcffence  contre  toutes  tentative  il  ordonna  que 
Lefers  et  Lassier  qui  etoient  dans  Le  magazin  fussent  mis 
en  ocuvre  pour  faire  des  Casse  teste,  des  dagues,  des 
Lances  et  des  Croc  pour  armees  Ses  soldats  pour  deffendre 
Lassaut  en  cas  que  Les  Sauvages  voulussent  tente  d'y 
monte,  ce  qui  fut  execute  par  deux  forgerons  frangais 
qui  etoient  dans  le  fort.  Sur  les  quatre  heures  apres  midi 
il  vint  une  nouvelle  dans  le  fort  qui  dit  a  Ses  Mrs.  que  Les 
Sauvages  avoit  intention  de  mettre  Le  feu  au  fort  tant 
aux  pieux  qui  en  fesoient  L'enceinte  que  aux  maisons  qui 
etoient  dedans  avec  des  fieches  a  feux,  ce  qui  Leurs 
etoient  impossible  de  faire  n'ayant  pas  heureusement  ce 
qui  pouvait  Leur  estre  necessaire  pour  cela,  mais  par  pru- 
dence et  crainte  de  surprise,  il  fut  mis  Sur  Les  magazins 


116  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

But  from  prudence  and  fear  of  surprise  ladders  were  placed 
upon  the  royal  magazine  and  the  houses,  and  on  the  ground 
by  them  tubs  full  of  water  to  serve  in  case  of  need.  The 
Commandant  ordered  that  not  a  Frenchman  in  the  Fort 
should  go  to  bed,  but  make  a  night  of  it,  and  that  they 
should  assemble  three  or  four  together  in  their  houses  in 
order  to  be  ready  at  the  first  call. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  weather  cleared 
up,  and  it  was  expected  the  Indians  would  make  some 
attack  with  the  return  of  fair  weather,  but  they  did  not, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  day  passed  as  had  the  morning^®. 

May  24.     Tuesday. 

The  Indians  who  had  been  idle  all  the  day  before  con- 
tinued so  on  this  day  up  to  four  o'clock,  when  they  shook 
off  the  yoke  of  laziness  to  recommence  their  hostility 
against  the  Fort,  and  they  did  not  cease  till  midnight.  They 
were  no  more  satisfied  then  than  if  they  had  kept  quiet, 
unless  it  was  that  they  had  used  up  powder  and  ball  to 
no  purpose. 

The  Commandant  who  foresaw  that  this  tragic  affair 
would  not  end  soon,  and  that  it  would  not  be  easy  to  get 
provisions  from  without,  from  fear  of  being  in  need  be- 
fore the  return  of  the  vessel  and  the  arrival  of  the  convoy, 
v>  hich  was  expected  any  day,  in  order  to  avoid  this,  com- 
manded that  all  the  houses  of  the  French  should  be  visited 
and  whatever  superfluous  food  each  man  might  have  should 
be  taken  and  stored  for  the  sustenance  of  all  his  forces. 
This  order  was  carried  out  by  officer  Hay,  the  commissary, 
and  the  judge^^,  who  went  into  all  the  houses  and  col- 
lected wheat,  flour,  peas,  also  the  corn  belonging  to  the 
Indians  which  the  French  were  storing,  and  which  the 
Indians  had  not  the  precaution  to  take  away  before  be- 
ginning their  beautiful  fiasco.  The  officers  also  collected 
oil,  tallow,  and,  in  general,  everything  which  could  serve 


^^The  tranquility  of  this  day  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Pontiac 
learned  that  the  expected  schooner  was  aground.  He  forced  Capt.  Campbell  to 
accompany  him  across  the  river  in  order  to  put  him  in  a  canoe  and  take  him  to 
the  ship.  Here  he  expected  to  force  Campbell  to  tell  the  Commander  to  give  up 
the  ship.     He  was,    however,  disappointed   when  he  arrived   at  the   Huron   village 


JOURNAL  OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        117 

du  roy  et  sur  Les  maisons  des  echelle  et  au  has  des  quelles 
il  y  avait  des  cuves  pleines  d'eau  pour  Se  Servir  au  besoin, 
Mr.  Le  Commandant  ordonna  que  pas  un  frangois  qui 
etoient  actuellement  dans  Lefort  ne  se  couchat  qu'il  pas- 
sent  La  nuit  blanche  et  qu'ils  eussent  a  se  rassemble  trois 
OU  quatre  ensemble  par  maison  pour  etre  prest  a  la 
premiere  demande,  vers  Les  deux  heures  apres  midy  Le 
temps  se  mit  au  beau  L'on  S'attendait  qu'au  retour  du 
Beaux  tems  Les  Sauvages  feroient  quelque  incursion,  ce 
qui  ne  fut  point  et  Le  reste  de  la  Journee  Se  passat  comme 
s'etait  passe  Le  matin. 

24,  May. — Le  Mardy  24  de  May. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
avoient  paresseux  La  veille  toute  La  journee,  Le  furent 
encore  ce  jour  jusqu'a  quatre  heures  qu'ils  Secouerent 
Le  Joug  de  la  paresse  pour  recommencer  leurs  hostilite 
Sur  le  fort  et  qu'ils  ne  cesserent  que  a  minuit  pas  plus 
Satisfait  que  S'ils  Se  fussent  tenus  tranquil,  Sinon  que 
d'avoir  user  de  La  poudre  et  des  Balles  inutilement. 

Mr.  Le  Commandant  qui  prevoyait  que  cette  tragique 
scene  ne  finirait  pas  Sitost  et  qu'il  ne  Serait  pas  facille 
d'avoir  des  vivres  du  dehors  et  craignant  d'en  manquer 
avant  Le  retour  de  la  Barque  et  L'arrive  du  Convoy,  qu'il 
attendait  de  jour  en  jour;  ordonna  que  pour  obvier  a  cela 
La  visite  fut  faite  dans  toutes  Les  maisons  frangaises  pour 
oter  a  chacun  ce  qu'il  pouvait  avoir  de  Superflus,  afin  de 
L'economiser  pour  La  subsistance  de  tons  son  Monde,  ce  qui 
fut  Execute  par  Mr.  he,  officier,  Mr.  Le  Commissare  des 
vivres  et  Mr.  Le  Juge  qui  furent  dans  toutes  les  maisons, 
ramasserent  du  Bled,  f roment.  La  farine,  des  pois ;  du  bled 
d'inde  qui  appertenoit  aux  Sauvages,  que  des  frangais 
avoient  en  garde  chez  eux  et  que  Les  Sauvages  n'avoient 
pas  eii  La  precaution  de  retire  avant  de  commencer  Leurs 
Belles  Cacade;  Ses  Mrs.  ramasserent  aussi  de  I'huile,  du 
Suif   et  generallement   de  tous   ce  qui  pent   Servire  a   la 


to   discover   that   the   schooner    was  s.till   in   the   lake.      Siege  of  Detroit   by   Hough. 
"Samson    Fleming    was   acting    as   commissary   in    Detroit   at   this   time   and    Le- 
Grand,   living  on   St.    Louis  street,   was  judge.     See  Journal  of  J.  L.    (pulslished  by 
this    Society   in    1911),    note    71. 


118  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

for  food,  keeping  an  account  of  everything  they  took,  and 
especially  the  names  of  the  persons  to  whom  the  provisions 
belonged,  assuring  these  of  payment,  at  the  same  time  giv- 
ing them  receipts  for  the  same.  Only  the  Indian  corn 
belonging  to  the  savages  was  confiscated  for  the  general 
good.  All  the  provisions  were  placed  in  the  royal  ware- 
house and  served  as  defense  against  the  famine  which 
threatened  the  English. 

May  25.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  who  had  worn  themselves  out  during  a  part 
of  the  preceding  night  wasting  ammunition,  rested  till  al- 
most five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before  recommencing 
the  attack  as  upon  the  day  before.  Only  the  chiefs  and 
old  men  did  not  take  a  hand  in  the  firing,  and  while  the 
others  rested  they  strolled  about  to  discover  what  was 
passing  and  guard  against  surprise,  suspecting  the  English 
all  the  time. 

The  French  settlers  of  the  shores  were  torn  by  conflicting 
feelings;  some  of  them  who  were  actually  honest  and 
moved  by  sentiments  of  humanity  and  religion  groaned 
over  the  foolish  enterprise  of  the  Indians,  and  would  will- 
ingly have  sacrificed  even  the  last  bit  of  their  property  to 
check  the  Indian  nations  and  bring  about  peace  in  the 
region;  others  who  were  governed  by  a  feeling  of  un- 
reasonable hostility,  and  had  never  cherished  any  sentiments 
of  submission  or  respect  would  gladly  have  cast  their  lot 
with  the  Indians  had  it  not  been  for  the  fear  of  public 
contempt ;  others  still  were  in  a  vacillating  condition,  not 
knowing  which  of  the  two  parties  to  join.  But  all  alike, 
worn  out  as  they  were  by  conflicting  opinions  and  the 
behavior  of  the  Indians,  had  already  assembled  at  different 
times  at  the  houses  of  the  oldest  settlers  to  deliberate  over 
some  means  of  checking  the  Indians.  The  day  before  they 
had  resolved  that  they  ought  to  go  to  the  camp  and  ask 
Pontiac  for  a  council,  and  try  to  find  out  what  his  inten- 
tions were  concerning  the  war. 

To   that   end   they   selected  fifteen   whom   the   Indians 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        119 

nourriture  tenant  un  Etat  de  tous  ce  qu'ils  prenoient  de 
chaque  chose  en  particulier,  Le  nom  des  personnes  a  qui  les 
vivres  appartenoient,  dont  ils  donnaient  des  assurances  de 
payment  en  Leurs  delivrant  des  Billets,  il  ny  eu  que  Le 
Bled  dinde  des  sauvages  qui  fut  confisque  a  leurs  profit 
toutes  les  provisions  furent  mises  dans  Les  magazins  du 
Roy,  et  qui  servirent  d'arme  contre  la  disette  dont  ces 
Mrs.  Etoient  menacees. 

25e  May. — Le  Mercredy  25  May. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
dans  une  parties  de  la  nuit  precedente  S'etoient  fatigue  a 
employe  de  la  munition  mala  propos,  Se  reposerent  j  usque 
a  Cinq  heures  apres  midy  qu'ils  recommencerent,  comme 
Le  jour  precedent,  il  n'y  avoit  que  Les  chefs  et  Les  vieil- 
lards  qui  ne  tiroient  point  et  qui  pendant  que  Les  autres 
Se  reposaient,  Se  promenoient  pour  Examiner  ce  qui  Se 
passoient  et  pour  n'estre  point  Surpris  se  mefiant  toujours 
des  anglais. 

Les  habitans  des  Costes  qui  etoient  partage  par  dif- 
ferens  Sentimens,  Les  uns  en  veritable  honneste  gens, 
penetre  d'un  Sentiment  d'humanite  et  de  religion  gemis- 
soient  de  la  folle  entreprise  des  Sauvages  et  auroient  vol- 
lontiers  Sacrifier  jusque  a  la  derniere  piece  de  leurs  Butin 
pour  arreste  Les  nations  et  mettre  La  paix  dans  L'endroit, 
d'autre  gouverne  par  un  Sentiment  d'anthipatie  mal  fonde 
chez  qui  La  Soumission  ni  Le  respect  n'ont  jamais  eu 
d'empire  Se  Seroient  vollontiers  jette  dans  Le  partie  des 
Sauvages  Si  ce  n'avait  ete  La  crainte  d'un  mepris  general. 
Les  autres  etoient  comme  en  equilibre,  ne  Sqachant  Lequel 
des  deux  parties  embrasse  et  qui  tous  ensemble  etoient 
fatigue  par  ces  diverses  Sentimens,  des  courses  des  Sau- 
vages S'etoient  deja  assemble  en  differente  fois  chez  les 
plus  anciens  pour  delibere  entre  eux  Sur  un  moyen  d'ar- 
reste  Les  nations,  ils  resolurent  Le  Jour  precedent  qu'il 
falait  aller  au  Camp  demander  un  Conseil  a  pondiak  et 
tache  De  Sqavoir  quelles  etoient  Ses  intentions  dans  cette 
guerre  pour  cette  Effet  Se  choisirent  au  nombre  de  quinze 
Considere,    et    Connue   et   aime   des    sauvages    furent   au 


120  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

knew  and  esteemed,  proceeded  to  the  camp  and  asked  for 
a  parley.  Pontiac  who  had  not  been  notified  of  this  visit 
was  surprised  at  it,  and  suspected  some  mystery  which  he 
as  yet  could  not  fathom.  Nevertheless  he  received  them 
cordially  and  asked  what  had  brought  them;  his  curiosity 
did  not  permit  him  to  wait  till  they  had  told  of  themselves 
the  reason  for  their  visit.  They  all  replied  with  one 
accord  that  they  had  come  to  talk  over  some  business,  and 
that  they  would  be  pleased  to  have  all  his  chiefs  hear  what 
they  had  to  say.  Pontiac,  who  was  anxious  to  know  what 
the  matter  was.  sent  messengers  to  the  Pottawattamies  and 
the  Hurons  of  the  bad  band,  and  they  came  in  a  short 
time.  When  they  were  all  assembled  the  most  revered 
among  the  French,  taking  the  great  chief  by  the  hand,  said 
addressing  them  all : 

"My  brothers,  you  seem  surprised  to  see  us.  We  have 
come  here  only  to  renew  the  ancient  alliance  which  our 
fathers  made  with  you,  and  which  you  are  today  destroy- 
ing by  bringing  death  upon  us.  When  you  began  your 
attack  upon  the  English  you  gave  us  to  understand  that 
you  would  do  us  no  wrong.  It  is  true  you  do  us  no  per- 
sonal harm,  but  it  is  nevertheless  doing  us  harm  to  do 
what  you  are  doing  in  killing  our  live  stock.  When  they 
are  all  killed  how  do  you  think  we  shall  be  able  to  plow 
our  fields,  to  sow  and  make  bread  for  you?  If  only  in 
killing  them  you  did  not  waste  half  you  would  profit  the 
more  and  hold  out  the  longer,  and  we  should  not  lose  so 
much. 

"When  you  enter  our  homes  you  enter  with  the  toma- 
hawk raised  as  if  you  intended  to  kill  us  while  begging  for 
food.  Have  we  ever  refused  at  any  time  when  you  have 
asked  us  ?  You  do  not  speak  to  us  any  more  like  brothers, 
but  like  masters,  and  you  treat  us  as  we  treat  our  slaves. 
Since  when  have  you  seen  the  Indians  domineering  over 
the  French?  Is  this  the  way  you  promised  your  Father 
Belestre,  when  he  departed,  that  you  would  love  and  cherish 
your  French  brothers  ?    Avenge  the  insults  which  have  been 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        121 

Camp  pour  demander  a  parle,  pondiak  qui  n'etait  pas  point 
prevenu    de    Cette    visite    en    fut    Surpris    et    Soupgonna 
quelque   mistere    qu'il   ne   pouvait   encore    penetre,    nean- 
moins  il  Les  recuent  tres  Biens  et  Leurs  demanda  ce  qui 
Les  ammenoient  car  Sa  curiosite  ne  Luy  parmis  pas  d'at- 
tendre  que  deux  mesme,  ils  disent  La  Cause  de  Leurs  de- 
marche, il  Luy  fut  repondue  d'une  Commune  voix  qu'ils 
venoient  Luy  parle  pour  affaire  qu'ils  seroient  flate  que 
tous  ces  chefs  entendissent  ce  qu'ils  avoient  a  dire,  pondiak 
a  qu'il  tardait  de  savoir  de  quoy  il  etoit  question  envoya 
des   emissaires  aux  paux  et  aux  hurons  de  la  mauvaise 
bande  qui  vinrent  en  peu  de  tems.     Lorsque  ils  furent  tous 
assemble,    Le    plus    Considere    d'entre    Les    frangais    qui 
etoient  venus,  prenant  Le  grand  chefs  par  Le  main  dit  a 
tous,  Mes  freres  vous  nous  paroissez  Surpris  de  nous  voir, 
nous  ne  Sommes  venus  icy  que  pour  renouvellee  L'ancienne 
alliance  que  nos  ancestre  ont  faits  avec  vous  et  que  vous 
detruisez  aujourd'hui   en  nous  donnant   La   mort,   quand 
vous  avez  commance  a  frape  Sur  Les  anglois  vous  nous 
avez  faits  entendre  que  vous  ne  vouliez  pas  nous   faire 
aucun  tord  ny  aucun  mal,  il  est  vray  que  vous  ne  nous 
faiste  pas  de  mal,  mais  c'est  toujours  nous  en  faire  que 
de  nous  faire  Letord  que  vous  nous  faites,  tuant  nos  ani- 
maux,  quand  vous  Les  aurez  tous  tue  avec  quoy,  voulez- 
vous  que  nous  Labourions  nos  terre,  pour  semer  et  vous 
faire  du  pain:  Sy  encore  en  Les  tuant  vous  n'en  perdiez 
pas  La  motier,  vous  auriez  plus  de  profit  et  vous  dureroient 
plus  Longtemps  et  nous  ne  perderions  pas  tant. 

Quand  vous  entrez  chez  nous,  vous  y  entrez  Le  Casse 
teste  Leve  comme  S'y  vous  voulliez  nous  tue,  en  nous  de- 
mandant a  manger.  Es-ce  que  toutes  Les  fois  que  vous 
en  avez  demande  nous  vous  en  avons  refuse,  ce  n'est  plus  en 
freres  que  vous  nous  parle,  mais  en  maitre  et  vous  nous 
traite  Comme  nous  faisons  nos  esclaves,  depuis  quand  Es- 
ce  que  vous  avez  viae  Les  Sauvages  Commande  Les  fran- 
gois,  Es-ce  la  ce  que  vous  avez  promis  a  votre  pere 
Belestre  quand  il  a  partis,  que  vous  aimeriez  et  Soutien- 
drez  vos  freres,  Les  frangois,  vange  Les  insultes  qui  vous 


122  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

offered  you — we  do  not  object,^^^  but  remember  that  we 
are  all  brothers  and  the  children  of  your  Great  Father, 
the  King  of  France.  You  are  expecting  him  (Belestre) 
back,  you  say.  When  he  returns  to  supply  your  needs, 
as  he  has  already  done,  and  sees  that  you  have  killed  us 
and  taken  all  that  we  were  preserving  for  him,  what  will 
he  say  to  you?  Do  you  think  he  will  give  you  presents 
to  cover  up  the  wrong  you  have  done  us?  On  the  con- 
trary, he  will  regard  you  as  rebellious  children  and  traitors, 
and  instead  of  petting  you  he  will  make  war  upon  you, 
and  then  you  will  have  two  nations  upon  you,  the  French 
and  the  English.  Consider  whether  you  want  to  have  two 
enemies,  or  whether  you  will  live  as  brothers  among  us." 
Pontiac  who  had  not  lost  a  single  word  of  all  that  had 
been  said,  in  the  name  of  all  the  chiefs  made  reply  to  the 
French : 

"My  brothers,  we  have  never  intended  to  do  you  any 
injury  or  harm,  neither  have  we  pretended  that  any  should 
be  done  you,  but  among  my  young  men  there  are  some,  as 
among  you,  who  are  always  doing  harm  in  spite  of  all  pre- 
cautions that  one  can  take.  Moreover,  it  is  not  for  per- 
sonal vengeance  merely  that  I  am  making  war  upon  the 
English ;  it  is  for  you,  my  brothers,  as  well  as  for  us. 
When  the  English  have  insulted  us  in  the  councils  which 
we  have  held  with  them,  they  have  insulted  you,  too, 
without  your  knowing  it.  And  since  I  and  all  my  brothers, 
also,  know  that  the  English  have  taken  away  from  you 
all  means  to  avenge  yourselves  by  disarming  you  and  mak- 
ing you  sign  a  paper  which  they  have  sent  to  their  ow^n 
country, — a  thing  they  could  not  do  to  us, — for  this 
reason  we  wish  to  avenge  you  equally  with  ourselves,  and 
I  swear  the  destruction  of  all  that  may  be  upon  our  lands. 
"What  is  more,  you  do  not  know  all  the  reasons  which 
oblige  me  to  act  as  I  do.     I  have  told  you  only  what  con- 

=*In  a  letter  from  Croghan  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  written  in  1765,  he  says 
that  "Pontiac  and  all  the  principal  chiefs  never  pretend  to  deny  that  the  French 
were  at  the  bottom  of  the  war — that  they  had  an  interest  in  stirring  up  the  war 
— supplied  the  Indians  with  all  their  wants  as  far  as  possible.  Pontiac  and  the 
chiefs  call  it  the  Beaver  War,  but  in  spite  of  this  declaration  they  still  love 
the  French,  who  have  adopted  their  customs  and  manners,  and  treat  them  civilly." 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        123 

ont  ete  faites,  nous  ne  nous  y  oposons  pas,  mais  Souvenez 
vous  que  nous  Sommes  tous  freres  et  Les  enfans  de  votre 
grand  pere  Le  Roy  de  france,  vous  L'attendez,  dites  vous, 
quand  il  reviendra  pour  vous  apporte  vos  Besoins  comme 
il  a  deja  fait  Et  qu'il  verra  que  vous  nous  aurez  tue,  et  pris 
tous  ce  que  nous  Conservons  pour  Luy,  que  pourrat  il  vous 
dirent,  Croyez  vous  qu'il  vous  fera  des  presens  pour 
Couvrir  Le  Mai  que  vous  aurez  faits,  non  au  contraire  il 
vous  regardera  comme  des  enfans  rebelle  et  Comme  des 
traites,  Et  Bien  Loing  de  vous  caresse  il  vous  fera  La 
guerre  pour  Lors  vous  aurez  deux  nations  a  dos  Les  fran- 
Qois  et  Les  anglais,  voyez  S'y  vous  voullez  avoir  deux  en- 
nemies  ou  bien  si  vous  voulez  vivre  en  freres  avec  nous. 

Pondiak  qui  n'avait  pas  perdiie  un  mot  detout  ce  qui 
venoit  d'estre  dit  pris  La  parolle  a  son  tour  au  nom  de 
tous  les  chefs,  S'adressant.  Aux  f rangois :  Mes  freres, 
nous  n'avons  jamais  eus  en  vue  de  vous  faire  aucun  tord, 
ny  aucun  mal,  n'y  n'avons  pretendus  qu'ils  vous  en  soient 
fais,  mais  parmis  mes  jeunes  gens  il  y  en  a  Comme  parmis 
vous,  qui  malgre  toutes  Les  precautions  que  L'on  prend 
font  tou jours  du  mal,  d'ailleurs  Ce  n'est  pas  pour  me 
vanger  Seulement  que  je  fais  La  guerre  aux  anglois,  C'est 
pour  vous  mes  freres,  comme  pour  nous,  quand  les  anglais 
dans  Les  Conseils  que  nous  avons  tenus  chez  eux  nous  ont 
insulte,  il  vous  ont  insulte  aussi  Sans  que  vous  L'ayez  Sgu, 
et  comme  Je  Sgay  et  tous  nos  freres  aussi  que  Les  anglais 
vous  ont  ote  tous  moyens  de  vous  venger  en  vous  des- 
armant  et  vous  faisant  ecrire  Sur  un  papier  qu'ils  ont 
envoye  dans  Leurs  pays,  ce  qui  n'ont  pas  pus  nous  faire, 
c'est  pourquoy  je  veux  vous  vange  egalement  comme  nous 
et  Je  jure  Leurs  perte  tant  qu'il  y  en  aura  Sur  nos  terres, 
En  outre,  vous  ne  Sgavez  pas  toutes  Les  raisons  qui 
m'oblige  a  faire  ce  que  Je  fais,  je  ne  vous  ai  dit  que  ce 


124  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

cerns  you,  but  you  will  know  the  rest  in  time.  I  know 
very  well  that  many  of  you,  my  brothers,  consider  me  a 
fool,  but  you  will  see  in  the  future  if  I  am  what  people 
say  I  am,  and  if  I  am  wrong.  I  know  very  well,  also, 
that  there  are  some  among  you,  my  brothers,  who  side  with 
the  English  in  making  war  upon  us^^  and  that  grieves 
me.  As  for  them,  I  know  them  well  and  when  our  Great 
Father  returns  I  shall  name  and  point  them  out  to  him 
and  they  will  see  whether  they  or  we  will  be  most  satisfied 
with  the  result  in  the  end. 

"I  do  not  doubt,  my  brothers,  that  this  war  causes  you 
annoyance  because  of  the  movements  of  our  brothers  who 
are  coming  and  going  in  your  homes  constantly;  I  am 
chagrined  at  it,  but  do  not  think,  my  brothers,  that  I  inspire 
the  harm  which  is  being  done  you.  As  a  proof  that  I 
do  not  desire  it  just  call  to  mind  the  war  with  the  Foxes, 
and  the  way  I  behaved®^  as  regards  you  seventeen  years 
ago.  Now  when  the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  of  Michilli- 
mackinac,  and  all  the  northern  nations,  came  with  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes  to  destroy  you,  who  was  it  that  defended  you? 
Was  it  not  I  and  my  men? 

"When  Mackinaw,  the  great  chief  of  all  these  nations, 
said  in  his  council  that  he  would  carry  the  head  of  your 
commander^^  to  his  village,  and  devour  his  heart,  and  drink 
his  blood,  did  I  not  take  up  your  cause,  and  go  to  his 
village,  and  tell  him  that  if  he  wanted  to  kill  the  French 
he  would  have  to  begin  first  with  me  and  my  men?  Did 
I  not  help  you  rid  yourselves  of  them  and  drive  them 
away?  How  does  it  come  then,  my  brothers,  that  you 
would  think  me  today  ready  to  turn  my  weapons  against 
you?  No,  my  brothers,  I  am  the  same  French  Pontiac 
who  helped  you  seventeen  years  ago;  I  am  French,  and 
I  want  to  die  French,  and  I  repeat  that  it  is  altogether 
your   interests   and  mine   that   I  avenge.      Let  me   carry 


"Gladwin  wrote  Amherst  July  8th,  1763:  "Nevertheless,  there  are  some  Hon- 
est men  among  them  to  whom  I  am  infinitely  obliged;  I  mean.  Sir,  Monsieur 
Navarre,  the  two  Baby's  and  my   Interpreters,   St.   Martin  and  La   Bute." 

•"Pontiac,    according    to    his    own    account,    had    saved    the    French    at    Detroit 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE   CONSPIRATION        125 

qui  vous  regarde  vous  scaurez  Le  reste  avec  le  temps,  Je 
Sgay  Bien  que  Je  passe  parmis  Beaucoup  de  vous,  mes 
freres  pour  un  Sot  mais  vous  voirez  a  L'avenir  Si  je  suis 
ce  que  L'on  dit  et  S'y  Jay  tord.  Je  Sgay  Bien  aussi  qu'il 
y  en  a  parmis  vous,  mes  freres  qui  prennent  le  parti 
anglais,  pour  nous  faire  La  guerre,  et  cela  me  fait  de  la 
peine  que  par  raport  a  eux,  Je  les  Connais  Bien  Et  quand 
nostre  pere  a  tous  viendras,  Je  les  nommeray  et  Les  Luy 
montreray  Et  ils  verons  qui  d'eux  ou  de  vous  Serons  Le 
plus  Contents  par  La  Suite. 

Je  ne  doute  pas,  mes  freres,  que  cette  guerre  ne  vous 
fatigue  par  raport  aux  mouvements  de  nos  freres  qui  a 
tous  momens  vont  et  viennent  chez  vous,  J'en  suis  fache, 
mais  ne  croyez  pas  mes  freres  que  Je  souffre  Le  tord  qui 
vous  est  faits  et  pour  preuve  que  Je  ne  Le  veux  pas,  qu'il 
vous  Souviennent  de  La  guerre  des  renards  et  de  la 
maniere  dont  Je  me  suis  comporte  a  votre  egard,  il  y  a 
dix  sept  ans,  apresent  quand  Les  sauteux  et  outavois  de 
IMichellinakinak  et  toutes  Les  nations  du  nord  Sont  venus 
avec  La  Sok  et  Les  renards  pour  vous  deffaire,  qui  es  ce 
qui  vous  deffendue  n'est-ce  pas  moy  et  mes  gens,  quand 
mekinak,  grand  chef  de  toute  ces  nations  dit  dans  son 
Conseil  qu'il  voullait  emporte  a  Son  village  La  teste  de 
vostre  Commandant,  Et  mange  Son  Coeur  et  Boire  Son 
Sang,  n'ai-je  pas  pris  vos  interest,  en  allant  a  Son  Camp 
Lui  dire  que  S'il  voulait  tue  Les  franqais  qu'il  fallait  qu'il 
commenca  par  Moy  Et  mes  gens,  ne  vous  ai  Je  pas  aide 
a  les  deffaire  et  a  les  chasse,  d'ou  vient  voudriez  vous 
mes  freres  que  aujourd'hui  Je  tourne  mes  armes  contre 
vous,  non,  mes  freres  Je  suis  Le  Meme  pondiak  frangais 
qui  vous  a  preste  La  main  il  y  a  dix  sept  ans,  Je  suis 
frangais  et  Je  veu  mourrir  frangais,  Et  Je  vous  Le  repette 
Se  sont  tous  ensemble  vos  interest  et  Les  miens  que  Je 
vange.     Laisse  moy  faire  Je  ne  vous  demande  pas  vostre 


from  being  massacred  in  1746,  when  the  great  Chief  Mickinac  (the  Turtle)    came 
down   to   destroy   that   post. 

siPaul   Joseph  Le  Moine,   Chav.  de   Longuevil,  was   commandant  at  Detroit  in 
1746. 


126  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

out  my  plan.  I  do  not  demand  your  assistance,  because 
I  know  you  could  not  give  it;  I  only  ask  you  for  provisions 
for  myself  and  all  my  followers.  If,  however,  you  should 
like  to  help  me  I  would  not  refuse;  you  would  please  me 
and  get  out  of  trouble  the  quicker,  for  I  promise  when 
the  English  shall  be  driven  away  from  here,  or  killed,  we 
shall  all  withdraw  into  our  villages,  following  our  custom, 
to  await  the  coming  of  our  French  Father. 

"Thus  you  see,  my  brothers,  what  my  sentiments  are. 
Do  not  worry,  I  shall  see  to  it  that  neither  my  follov/ers 
nor  any  other  Indians  harm  you  any  further,  but  I  ask 
that  our  women  may  have  permission  to  raise  our  corn 
upon  your  fields  and  fallow  lands.  By  allowing  this  you 
will  oblige  us  greatly." 

All  the  French  replied  that  they  were  very  willing.  The 
council  came  to  an  end  and  the  Frenchmen  withdrew,  satis- 
fied with  their  negotiations  with  Pontiac.  The  very  same 
day  the  Indian  women  began  work  in  the  corn  fields,  and 
several  settlers  ploughed  fields  for  the  planting,  and  that 
same  afternoon  Pontiac  went  all  along  the  shores  to  give 
orders  concerning  the  subsistence  of  all  the  Indians  so  that 
nothing  more  might  be  taken  from  the  settlers  by  force. 

The  Commandant  had  observed  that  the  Pottawattamies 
in  camp  southwest  of  the  Fort  since  the  departure  of  the 
sloop,  came  along  the  river  edge  under  the  shelter  of  the 
bank  in  which  were  two  lime-kilns"^^,  and  stationed  them- 
selves in  ambush  behind  these  to  fire  upon  the  soldiers  who 
were  accustomed  to  go  down  to  the  river  for  their  needs. 
In  order  to  keep  the  Indians  from  coming  any  more  to 
annoy  them  from  that  side,  he  ordered  a  portable  bastion, 
or  cavalier,  to  be  built  and  placed  on  the  shore  to  defend 
the  edge  of  the  river  so  that  people  could  go  down  there 
without  danger.  Two  carpenters  and  several  persons  who 
knew  how  to  handle  the  axe  were  set  to  work  upon  this 
structure  in  the  parade-ground.     And  since  there  were  no 


'^According  to  Farmer,  there  were  several  lime  kilns  near  the  stockade  in  1763, 
and   a   number    of   stone   buildings    within   its   walls.      (Farmer's  Hist,    of  Detroit.) 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        127 

secours,  parce  que  Je  Scay  que  vous  ne  Le  pouvez  pas, 
Je  ne  vous  demande  que  des  vivres  pour  moy  et  tous  mes 
gens.  Si  cependant  vous  voulliez  m'aide,  Je  ne  vous  re- 
fuserais  vous  me  feriez  plaisir  et  vous  seriez  plus  tost  hors 
d'embarras  parce  que  Je  vous  reponds  Les  anglais  seront 
chasse  d'icy  ou  tue,  nous  nous  retirerons  tous  dans  nos  vil- 
lages, Suivant  nostre  Coutume  pour  y  attendre  notre  pere 
Le  frangois,  ainsy  vous  voyez  mes  freres  quel  sont  mes 
Sentimens  Soyez  tranquille  Je  veilleray  pour  qu'il  ne  vous 
Soit  plus  fait  de  tord  par  mes  gens  ny  par  d'autre  sauvages, 
mais  Je  vous  demande  que  nos  femmes  aye  La  liberte  de 
faire  nos  bled  Sur  vos  terres,  dans  vos  friches  nous  vous 
Seront  oblige,  tous  Les  frangais  repondirent  qu'ils  le 
vouillaient  Bien.  Le  Conseil  finis  chaque  frangais  Se 
retira  contents  de  leurs  negociations  avec  pondiak 
et  des  la  meme  journee  Les  femmes  Sauvages  mi  rent 
La  main  a  L'oeuvre  pour  Leurs  bleds  et  plusieurs  habi- 
tants Leurs  Labourerent  de  la  terre  pour  La  seme,  et  pon- 
diak fut  dans  I'apres  midy  donner  des  ordes  dans  toutes 
Les  Costes  pour  La  Subsistance  de  tous  Les  Sauvages  et 
pour  qu'il  ne  fut  plus  rien  pris  par  force  au  habitans. 

Mr.  Le  Commandant  qui  S'etait  apergij  que  depuis  le 
depart  de  la  barque  que  Les  Sauvages  poux  qui  etoient 
Campe  au  Sordouest  du  fort,  venoient  Le  Long  de  la  greve 
a  convert  d'un  coste  qui  La  bordais,  Et  dans  Laquelle 
etoient  deux  fourneaux  a  chaux,  ou  Les  Sauvages  venoient 
Se  mettre  en  Embuscade  pour  tire  Sur  Les  Soldats  qui 
allaient  a  la  riviere  pour  Leurs  Besoins,  il  ordonna  que 
pour  empecher  que  Les  Sauvages  ne  vinssent  plus  inquiete 
de  ce  Cote  La,  Lon  fit  un  cavallier  pour  Estre  mis  Sur 
La  greve  pour  garder  et  deffendre  Le  bord  de  la  riviere 
affin  que  Ton  put  il  aller  sans  risque,  pour  cela  deux  char- 
pentiers  et  plusieurs  personne  qui  Sgavoient  manier  La 
hache  furent  occupe  pour  travailler  a  cette  Edifice  sur  la 
place  d'arme,  or  comme  il  n'y  avait  dans  le  fort  de  Bois 


128  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

timbers  in  the  Fort  suitable  for  this  task,  the  workmen 
took  the  walks  from  in  front  of  the  houses  and  used  them 
in  the  construction  of  this  building  which  was  ready  for 
erection  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  To  place  this 
structure  in  the  designated  spot,  it  became  necessary  to 
carry  the  timbers  from  the  Fort  piece  by  piece.  All  the 
French  in  the  Fort,  together  with  some  soldiers  of  the 
garrison,  were  ordered  out,  and  they  all  passed  the  timbers 
through  a  postern  which  had  been  made  to  mount  a  cannon 
on  the  river  side.  When  once  the  materials  were  on  the 
outside  it  was  no  easy  task  to  mortise  and  bolt  them  to- 
gether because  of  the  weight,  but  the  eagerness  of  every- 
body to  help  enabled  them  to  get  around  the  difficulty  when 
they  came  to  it.  When  the  structure  was  put  together 
they  tried  to  raise  it,  but  did  not  succeed  for  two  reasons : 
firstly,  not  enough  men;  secondly,  and  this  was  the  greater 
reason,  when  the  Indians  who  were  in  ambush  in  a  ditch 
two  hundred  yards  away  saw  some  English  among  the 
French  and  recognized  that  the  structure  was  going  to  be 
an  obstacle  for  them,  they  fired  several  times  upon  every- 
body, and  this  caused  the  work  to  be  abandoned  on  the 
spot.    The  erection  was  put  over  to  the  next  day  at  dawn. 

May  26.     Thursday. 

At  the  peep  of  day  the  French  with  some  soldiers  were 
ordered  to  raise  the  bastion  which  they  had  been  compelled 
to  abandon  on  account  of  the  Indians  who  were  now  rest- 
ing in  their  camps.  This  fact  gave  them  time  to  mount 
it  more  easily,  but  they  worked  with  all  possible  vigilance. 
As  they  were  finishing  and  preparing  to  retire,  a  French- 
man thought  he  v/ould  stroll  out  towards  the  kilns ;  he  was 
nearly  shot  by  an  Indian  hidden  in  one  of  the  kilns  who 
ran  as  soon  as  he  had  fired  to  hide  himself  farther  away 
in  a  trench  where  some  others  were.  The  Frenchman  who 
mistrusted  there  were  others  came  back  as  fast  as  he  could 
and  re-entered  the  fort  with  the  rest. 


JOURNAL  OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        129 

de  charpente  propre  pour  cette  ouvrage,  Les  ouvriers 
prirent  Les  banquettes  de  devant  Les  maisons  qu'ils  em- 
ployerent  a  la  construction  de  cette  batisse;  qui  sur  Les 
Cinq  heures  du  soir  fut  prest  a  dresse,  il  fallait  pour  Lc 
mettre  au  Lieu  destine  Sortir  Le  bois  de  dedans  Le  fort, 
piece  par  piece,  tous  Les  frangais  qui  etoient  dans  Le  fort 
furent  Commande  avec  quelque  Soldats  de  la  garnison  et 
tous  ensemble  Sortirent  Lebois  par  un  guichet  qui  avait 
^te  fait  pour  mettre  un  piece  de  canon  du  coste  de  la 
riviere;  tous  Le  bois  Sortis,  de  dresse  cette  ouvrage,  toute 
ajuste,  joins  et  cheville,  ce  qui  ne  pouvait  ce  faire  aise- 
ment  a  cause  de  la  pesanteur,  mais  L'envie  que  chacun 
avoient  de  rendre  service  a  ces  messieurs  fit  que  L'on  passa 
dessus  cette  difficulte  sans  prevoir.  L'ouvrage  toute  as- 
semble on  Essaya  a  vouloir  Le  mettre  debout,  mais  inu- 
tillement  pour  deux  raisons :  La  premiere  pas  asse  de 
monde.  La  Seconde  qui  etait  La  plus  forte,  Les  Sauvages 
qui  etoient  en  embuscade  dans  un  fose  a  trois  arpents 
Loing  dela,  qui  avoient  vue  des  anglois  parmis  Les  fran- 
Qais  et  qui  voyoient  aussi  que  le  batimens  allait  estre  un 
obstacle  pour  eux  firent  plusieurs  de  charge  sur  tous  Le 
monde,  qui  fut  cause  que  L'on  abandonna  Louvrage  Sur 
La  place  remettant  au  Lendemain  a  la  petitte  aurore  a  la 
dresse. 

26e  May. — Le  Jeudi  26e  May. — a  la  petite  pointe  du 
jour  Les  frangais  avec  quelque  Soldats  furent  Commande 
pour  dresser  Le  cavallier  que  L'on  avait  ete  Contraint 
d'abandonner  a  cause  des  Sauvages,  qui  actuellement  Se 
reposaient  dans  Leurs  Camps,  ce  qui  donna  Le  tems  de  le 
monter  plus  facilement  et  qui  fut  fait  avec  toute  La  vigi- 
lance possible  et  comme  L'on  finissoient  et  que  Ton  Se 
preparait  a  Se  retire,  un  frangais  voullus  alle  Se  promene 
vers  Les  fourneaux,  il  manqua  d'estre  blesse  par  un  sau- 
vage  qui  etait  en  decouverte  dans  L'un  des  fourneaux  et 
que  Sitost  qu'il  eiat  Lache  Son  coup  fut  Se  cache  plus 
Loing  dans  un  fausse  en  rejoindre  d'autre,  Le  franqais  se 
mefiant  qu'il  y  en  eut  davantage  Se  retira  au  plus  vite  et 
rentra  dans  Le  fort  avec  Les  autres. 


130  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

During  this  time  a  Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Labroce, 
a  resident  of  the  Fort,  who  had  gone  out  the  day  before 
with  permission  on  a  matter  of  business,  returned  with 
the  news  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Sandusky^^  by  the  Hurons 
of  the  bad  tribe.  These  had  actually  passed  the  night  pre- 
vious along  the  other  shore  of  the  river  with  a  red  flag 
flying  from  the  stern  of  one  of  their  canoes.  Several 
had  seen  this  but  could  not  discover  what  it  meant,  though 
they  suspected  that  the  Indians  had  made  some  new  cap- 
ture. This  was  confirmed  by  the  report  of  this  man  who 
told  how  he  had  seen  the  commandant  of  the  captured 
place,  and  that  the  garrison  had  been  slaughtered,  the  fort 
burned,  and  all  the  property,  not  only  of  the  troops  but 
of  the  traders  there  plundered. 

The  Commandant  of  the  Fort  said  he  would  not  believe 
anything  of  this  until  he  saw  a  letter  from  the  officer  who 
was  at  the  time  a  prisoner  among  the  Ottawas,  where  the 
Hurons  had  taken  him.  This  poor  man  upon  his  arrival 
had  been  very  badly  treated  by  the  other  Indians,  who 
as  they  landed  struck  him  with  clubs  and  their  fists  and 
made  him  yell  till  he  reached  their  camp.  Here  he  was 
adopted  at  once  by  an  Indian  woman  who  had  lost  her 
husband;  out  of  pity  she  took  him  for  her  second  husband 
and  in  this  way  his  life  was  saved. 

Pontiac  and  the  Ottawas  who  had  learned  from  the 
Hurons  upon  their  return  that  the  little  sloop  was  still 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  formed  the  plan  of  capturing 
her.  To  this  end  they  went  down  early  in  the  morning 
to  the  village  of  the  Pottawattamies  and  confided  their 
project  to  them.  The  Pottawattamies  joined  them  in  great 
glee,  as  if  the  affair  was  already  accomplished.  The  Otta- 
was took  with  them  their  prisoner,  Mr.  Campbell,  and 
his  interpreter,  Mr.  La  Butte,  hoping  that  the  presence 
of    this   officer    would   lead    the   people   of   the   vessel    to 


^^Fort  Sandusky  wag  taken  May  Ifith  and  most  of  the  garrison  put  to  death. 
The  commander,  Ensign  Christopher  Paully,  was  adopted  by  the  Indians.  Ruther- 
ford says  that  Paully  made  a  very  good  Indian,  being  of  a  dark  complexion. 
He  was  much  liked  by  his  master  who  soon  adopted  him  into  his  family,  by  which 
he  was  exempted  from  all  drudgery. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        131 

Pendant  ce  terns,  im  franqais  nomme  Mr.  Labroce, 
domicilie  du  fort  qui  Le  Jour  precedent  avec  La  permis- 
sion avait  Sorti  pour  affaire,  rentra  et  apporta  La  nou- 
velle  de  la  prise  et  defaite  du  fort  Sans  dosque  par  Les 
Sauvages  hurons  de  la  mauvaise  bande  qui  en  avait,  en 
effet,  passe  La  veille  de  L'autre  Coste  de  la  riviere  en 
Canot  avec  un  pavilion  rouge  sur  le  derriere  d'un  de  leurs 
Canots,  ce  qui  fut  vue  de  plusieurs  qui  ne  pouvait  penetre 
ce  que  Se  pouvait  estre  ne  fesoient  que  soupQonne  que 
les  sauvages  avoient  fait  quelques  nouvelles  captures,  Ce 
qui  fut  verifie  par  le  rapport  de  cette  homme  qui  dit  avoir 
vue  Le  Commandant  de  la  place  prise  et  que  La  garnison 
avoient  ete  tue,  Le  fort  Brule  et  tout  Le  butin  tant  de  la 
troupe  que  des  Commergans  qui  pouvoient  Sy  estre  trouve 
dans  le  tems,  fut  pille.  Le  Commandant  du  fort  n'en 
voulut  rien  croire  a  m^oins  qu'il  ne  vit  une  lettre  de  cette 
officier  qui  pour  Lors  etait  prisonnier  chez  les  Outaouis 
OU  Les  hurons  I'avoient  mene;  ce  pauvre  Mr.  en  arrivant 
fut  extremicment  mal  traite  des  autres  Sauvages  qui  en 
debarquant  Luy  donnerent  de  coup  de  poing  &  de  baton, 
en  le  faisant  chanter  j usque  a  ce  qu'il  fut  dans  Leurs 
Camp,  OU  il  fut  adopte  tout  aussitot  par  une  femme  Sau- 
vagesse  qui  avait  perdue  son  ]\Iary,  qui  regard  en  pitie  Le 
prit  pour  Son  Second  j\Iary  et  par  ce  moyen  il  eut  La  vie 
Sauve. 

Pondiak  et  Les  Sauvages  Outaouis  qui  avaient  Squs  par 
les  hurons  a  leurs  retour  que  la  petite  Barque  etait  encore 
au  bas  de  la  riviere  formerent  Le  dessein  de  la  prendre 
pour  cela  ils  dessendirent  des  le  petit  matin  au  village  des 
poux  a  qui  il  firent  participant  de  leurs  projets,  ces  der- 
niers  se  joignirent  a  eux  avec  grande  joye  comme  S'y  eut 
ete  une  affaire  fait.  Les  premiers  avoient  emmene  avec 
eux  Mr.  Cambel  Leur  prisonnier  et  son  interprete  Mr.  La 
Butte  esperant  que  La  presence  de  Cette  officier  feroient 
rendre  Les  gens  de  la  barque  et  quelle  serait  a  leur  pouvoir. 


132  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

surrender.  But  in  this  they  were  greatly  mistaken.  The 
men  on  the  sloop  would  not  hear  to  it,  and  their  only  reply 
to  the  Indians  was  cannon  and  gun  shots;  this  compelled 
the  savages  to  withdraw  till  evening  when  they  thought 
they  would  succeed  better.  But  the  people  of  the  vessel 
who  were  getting  better  acquainted  all  the  time  with  the 
handling  of  the  boat,  suspecting  that  the  Indians  would 
make  some  new  attempt  in  the  night  to  capture  them,  and 
seeing  that  there  were  only  seven  men  of  them  and  that 
with  this  little  force  they  could  not  long  repulse  two  hun- 
dred, resolved  to  run  for  it.  And  so  to  frustrate  the  hopes 
of  the  Indians  and  to  save  themselves  and  the  vessel  from 
their  clutches,  they  lifted  anchor  in  the  night  and  sailed  for 
the  open  lake,  heading  for  Niagara  in  accordance  with  the 
orders  they  had  received  from  the  Commandant  when  they 
left  the  Fort. 

May  27.     Friday. 

The  Indians  who  had  tired  themselves  out  to  no  purpose 
in  their  attempt  to  capture  the  sloop,  luckily  for  the  boat 
and  those  on  board  having  failed  in  their  project,  returned 
to  their  camp  with  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  interpreter  and 
remained  there  all  day.  There  was  no  hostility  on  either 
aide. 

May  28.     Saturday. 

The  Indians  remained  inactive  all  day.  This  was  due  to 
the  fact  that  they  were  awaiting  news  of  reinforcements^'* 
which,  according  to  a  runner  who  had  come  in  the  night, 
ought  to  arrive  during  the  course  of  the  day.  For  this 
reason  they  did  not  come  to  annoy  the  Fort.  However, 
they  were  false  to  the  promises  which  they  had  made  the 
settlers  and  began  again  to  kill  and  steal  their  live  stock. 

Toward  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  Indians  were  seen  in  the  woods  behind  the  Fort. 
They  came  from  the  direction  of  the  lake,  going  toward 
their  camp;  they  waved  scalps  and  uttered  twenty  death- 


"These    reinforcements    were    being    conducted    to    Detroit    by    Lieut    Abraham 
Cuyler. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        133 

ils  se  tromperent  grossierement,  Les  gens  de  la  barque  ne 
voullurent  rien  entendre  et  ne  repondirent  au  Sauvages  que 
a  coup  de  canon  et  de  fuSil,  ce  qui  fit  retirer  Les  Sauvages 
jusque  aux  soir,  croyant  mieux  reussir  dans  La  nuit,  mais 
Les  gens  de  la  barque  qui  tous  les  jours  devenoient  au 
faite  de  la  manoeuvre  se  mefiant  que  dans  La  nuit  Les 
Sauvages  feroit  quelque  nouvelle  tentative  pour  Les 
prendre,  avec  ce  qu'ils  netoient  que  Sept  hommes  et  que 
cette  petite  force,  ce  n'etoient  pas  pour  Soutenir  Long 
temps  a  deux  cent  hommes,  resolurent  de  tirer  au  Large; 
ainsy  pour  fruster  Lesperance  des  Sauvages  et  se  sauver 
de  leurs  grife,  aussi  bien  que  La  Barque  ils  Leverent 
L'ancre  dans  La  nuit  et  Lancerent  en  plein  Lac,  fesant 
route  pour  niagara,  suivant  Les  ordres  qu'ils  en  avaient 
rcQue  du  Commandant  en  partant  de  devant  Lefort. 

27e  May. — Le  vendredy  27e  May. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
s'etoient  fatigue  inutillement  pour  prendre  La  Barque, 
ayant  heureusement  pour  elle  et  pour  ceux  qui  etaient  de 
dans  manque  Leurs  coups,  revinrent  avec  Mr.  Cambel  et 
I'interprete  a  leur  camp  et  reposerent  tout  le  Jours.  II  n'y 
eut  aucune  hostilite  de  part  et  d'autre. 

28e  May. — Le  Samedy  28e  May. — Les  Sauvages  furent 
tout  le  jour  dans  L'innaction  parcequ'ils  attendoient  des 
nouvelles  et  du  renfort  qui  suivant  Le  raport  d'un  E- 
missaire  Sauvage  venus  dans  la  nuit,  Le  renfort  devait 
arrive  dans  Le  Courant  de  La  Journee,  ce  qui  fut  cause 
qu'ils  ne  vinrent  point  inquieter  Le  fort,  mais  ils  fausserent 
les  promesses  que  leurs  chefs  avoient  fais  aux  habitans  et 
recommencerent  a  tue  et  vole  Les  animaux.  Sur  les  cinq 
heures  apres  midi  L'on  vit  dans  Le  Bois  derriere,  Le  fort 
un  tres  grand  nombre  de  Sauvages  qui  revenoient  du 
Long  du  Lac  Et  remontoient  pour  Se  rendre  au  Camp  avec 
des  chevelures  fesant  des  cris  de  mort  au  nombre  de 
vingt   avec  des  cris   de  joye,  pour   faire   connaitre   qu'ils 


134  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

cries  mingled  with  yells  of  joy  to  announce  that  they  had 
just  come  from  an  attack  upon  some  place.  It  was  the 
rest  of  those  who  had  captured  Fort  Sandusky,  At  the 
same  time  a  rumor  reached  the  Fort  that  all  the  French 
who  had  gone  in  the  employ  of  the  English  traders  to 
Michillimackinac  had  been  killed  by  the  Chippewas  and 
Ottawas  of  that  place.  This  report  which  lacked  confirma- 
tion turned  out  later  to  be  false. 

The  Commandant  ordered  a  sortie  when  he  saw  that  the 
Indians  were  quiet.  This  was  carried  out  by  Mr.  Hay,  an 
officer,  with  twenty  men,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  an 
intrenchment  which  the  Indians  had  made  in  the  night  to 
the  southwest  of  the  Fort,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
yards  distant  from  the  gate.  The  Hurons  and  Pottawat- 
tamies  had  come  by  stealth  in  the  darkest  part  of  the  night 
to  the  fence  of  Mr.  St.  Martin,  and  taking  some  timbers 
almost  twenty  feet  long  w^hich  were  near  the  fort  had  piled 
them  up  in  two  tiers  to  tlie  height  of  a  man,  and  had 
planted  stakes  in  front  and  behind  to  support  them.  In 
this  way,  hidden  behind  these  beams,  they  did  not  fear  the 
balls  from  the  cannon  which  faced  them. 

In  the  morning  this  work  was  discovered  by  the  sentinels 
who  informed  the  Commandant  at  once,  and  it  was  de- 
stroyed in  its  very  inception,  as  it  were,  by  these  twenty 
men.  They  burned  the  fence,  carried  the  timbers  to  the 
Fort,  and  cleared  the  field  in  such  a  way  that  no  one  could 
approach  the  Fort  in  the  night  as  near  as  sixty-five  yards 
without  being  seen. 

May  29.     Sunday. 

The  weather  was  unsettled  all  day,  thus  affording  rest 
to  both  sides. 

May  30.     Monday. 

The  English  had  a  seine  which  had  not  been  used  since 
the  beginning  of  this  fatal  trouble.  Several  young  French- 
men asked  for  it,  saying  they  would  catch  them  some  fish 
while  catching  some  for  themselves.  It  was  got  ready  for 
them,  and  two  soldiers  who  knew  how  to  handle  it  were 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        135 

venoient  de  frape  a  quelque  endroit,  cestoient  Le  reste  de 
ceux  qui  avoient  defait  Le  fort  de  Sans  dosque. — dans  le 
mesme  temps  il  couru  une  nouvelle  dans  Lefort  que  tous 
Les  frangais  qui  S'etoient  engage  a  des  Commerqans 
anglois  pour  aller  avec  eux  a  Mechellimakinak  avoient  ete 
tue  par  Les  Sauteux  Et  Les  Outavois  de  ce  poste,  mais 
cette  nouvelle  qui  meritais  Confirmation  Se  trouva  fausse 
par  La  Suite  Mr.  Le  Commandant  voyant  que  Les 
Sauvages  etoient  tranquille  ordonna  une  Sortie  qui  fut 
faite  par  Mr.  he,  officier  de  troupe  a  la  teste  de  vingt 
homme  pour  defaire  un  retranchement  que  Les  Sauvages 
avoient  fait  dans  Le  nuit  au  Sorouest  du  fort  a  deux 
arpens  devant  La  porte,  Les  poux  et  Les  hurons  etoient 
venus  dans  Le  plus  obscure  de  la  nuit  a  pas  de  Loup  a  la 
closture  de  Mr.  St.  Martin  et  avoient  arrange  des  pieces 
de  bois  de  charpente  qui  etoient  proche  du  fort  qui  avoient 
pres  de  vingt  pieds  de  Long  et  Les  avoient  mis  Les  uns 
Sur  Les  autres  a  deux  rang  de  frond  a  la  hauteur  d'homme 
et  auroient  plante  des  piquets  pour  Les  Soutenirent  devant 
Et  derriere,  de  sorte  que  etant  cache  derriere  ces  pieces 
il  ne  craignoient  point  Le  Boulet  du  Canon  qui  etait  vis  a 
vis,  ce  travail  fut  vue  Le  matin  par  Les  factionnaires  qui 
en  informerent  aussitot  Le  Commandant,  Et  fut  pour  ainsi 
dire  detruit  dans  sa  naissance  par  ces  vingt  Soldats  qui 
Brulerent  La  cloture,  mirent  Les  pieux  contre  Le  fort  et 
La  campagne  fut  nette  de  Sorte  qu'il  ne  pouvait  approche 
personne  du  fort  Sans  estre  vue,  et  Lemoins  d'un  arpent 
dans  La  nuit. 

29e  May. — Le  dimanche  29e  de  May. — Le  temps  fut  in- 
constant tout  Le  jour,  ce  qui  donna  du  repos  aux  deux 
parties. 

30e  May. — Le  Lundy  30,  May. — Ces  Messieurs  avoient 
une  Seine  qui  depuis  Le  commencement  de  cette  fatal 
scene  n'avait  pas  Servis,  plusieurs  jeunes  frangais  La  de- 
manderent  disant  a  ces  Mrs.  qu'ils  Leurs  pecheroient  du 
poisson  en  peschant  pour  eux,  elle  Leurs  fit  preste  et  L'ont 
joingnit  avec  eux  deux   Soldats   qui   Sgavoient  L'arrange 


136  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

sent  to  help  them.  But  they  did  not  have  a  chance  to 
catch  a  single  fish,  or  even  to  cast  the  net  in  the  water ;  the 
Indians  who  were  in  ambush  in  a  ditch  three  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  the  Fort  saw  them  without  being  seen. 
Knowing  very  well  that  the  French  did  not  make  use  of 
the  seine  for  their  own  fishing,  they  suspected  that  they 
were  only  helping  the  English.  They  fired  several  times 
upon  the  fishermen  and  their  boat,  so  that  they  landed 
quickly  and  returned  to  the  fort  no  better  off  than  when 
they  went  out  with  the  seine  which  was  never  used  again. 
Around  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  a  soldier  strolling 
along  the  sentry-walk  talking  with  a  sentinel  in  the  flag 
bastion  which  faces  the  river  saw  some  craft  appearing  at 
Montreal  Point^^  on  the  Huron  village  side  of  the  river. 
The  objects  appeared  to  be  barges  with  people  in  them. 
This  soldier,  as  well  as  all  the  others,  knew  that  the  convoy 
was  expected  at  any  time  with  relief  of  provisions  and  men, 
and  he  hurried  to  notify  the  officer  of  the  guard  of  what 
he  had  just  seen.  The  officer,  convinced,  went  to  inform 
the  Commandant  and  the  other  officers.  All  these  came 
with  the  troops  and  traders,  and  climbed  upon  the  bastion 
in  order  themselves  to  verify  the  soldier's  report  and  find 
out  exactly  what  it  was.  They  saw  with  a  field  glass  that 
it  was  really  the  convoy  which  had  been  so  long  expected. 
This  caused  great  joy  through  the  hope  that  reinforcements 
arriving  would  change  the  attitude  of  the  Indians.  How- 
ever, the  joy  was  short-lived,  being  killed  in  its  very  birth, 
for  it  was  interrupted  by  a  number  of  war-cries  which  could 
be  heard  from  the  same  place  where  the  boats  were  in 
sight;  it  immediately  gave  place  to  gloom  and  forebodings 
for  the  convoy,®^  because  they  thought  then  that  the  Indians 


"Montreal  Point  is  the  western  extremity  of  the  crescent  of  land  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  extending  from  the  lower  end  of  Belle  Isle  to  Petit  Cote, 
opposite  the  end  of  the  West  I3oulevard  in  Detroit — land  on  which  the  Huron 
Mission   was   built. 

^^Tliis  convoy  was  sent  to  Detroit  under  Lieut  Cuyler,  of  the  Queen's  Com- 
pany of  Rangers,  Capt.  Hopkins'  Independent  Company.  It  left  Niagara  May 
13th,  and  consisted  of  ninety-seven  men,  ten  batteaux  and  139  barrels  of  pro- 
visions. It  was  attacked  on  May  29th  at  Pelee  Point  and  Sergeant  Cope,  fif- 
teen Privates  of  the  Royal  American  Regiment,  Serg't  Fislinger  and  forty- 
two    of   the    Rangers,    one    child   and    one    woman    were    killed.      Lieut    Cuyler    and 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        137 

pour  Leurs  aide,  mais  ils  neurent  pas  Le  Loisir  denprendre 
une  piece  et  mesme  pas  Le  terns  de  Jette  La  Seine  a  L'eau 
Les  Sauvages  qui  etoient  en  embuscade,  dans  un  fosse  a 
cinq  arpens  du  fort,  qui  Les  voyait  Sans  estre  vue  et  qui 
Scavait  Bien  que  Les  frangois  ne  fesait  pas  usage  de  Seine 
pour  Leurs  pesche,  avec  ce  qu'ils  se  mefiait  que  c'etait  en 
partie  pour  ces  messieurs,  firent  pluseiurs  decharge  Sur  Les 
pescheur  et  Sur  La  Berge,  qu'ils  revinrent  promptement  a 
terre  Et  rentrerent  dans  Le  fort  comme  ils  etaient  Sortis 
avec  La  Seine  qui  n'a  plus  Servis  depuis  ce  terns. 

Sur  Les  9  heures  du  matin  un  Soldat  qui  Se  promenait 
Sur  Le  chemin  de  ronde  avec,  Le  factionnaire  dans  Le 
Bastion  du  pavilion  qui  fesait  Tace  a  la  riviere,  en  causant 
ensemble;  il  vit  paroistre  a  la  pointe  du  Montreal  du  coste 
du  village  des  hurons  quelque  voiture  d'eau  qui  Luy  parois- 
sait  estre  des  berges  avec  du  monde  dedans,  Ce  Soldat  aussi 
Bien  que  tons  Les  autres  qui  Sgavoient  que  L'on  attendait 
de  moment  en  moment  Le  convoy,  par  Lequel  il  venait  du 
secours  de  vivres  et  de  monde,  courii  viste  avertir  L'officier 
de  garde  ce  qu'il  venait  de  voir,  L'officier,  point  incredule 
iut  avertir  Le  Commandant  et  tons  Les  autres  officiers  qui 
tout  ensemble  vinrent  avec  La  troupe  et  Les  Commergants 
monte  Sur  Le  Bastillon  pour  verifie  par  eux  mesme  Le 
raport  du  Soldat,  et  de  decouvir  au  juste  ce  qui  ce  pouvait 
estre,  L'on  vit  avec  une  Longue  vue  que  cestait  en  effet 
Le  convoy  S'y  longtemps  attendue  ce  qui  causa  une  grande 
joye,  esperant  que  le  renfort  rendue  dans  La  place  ferait 
change  de  Sentimens  aux  Sauvages,  mais  cette  joye  fut 
courte,  Et  mourd  dans  Sa  Naissance,  etant  interrompiie 
par  une  quantite  de  cris  de  mort  que  L'on  entendit  du 
mesme  endroit  ou  etait  les  voitures  que  L'on  voyaient  et 
qui  tout  a  coup  fesant  Succede  La  tristesse  fit  mal  angure 
du  Convoy.    Se  doutant  Bien  pour  Lors  que  Les  Sauvages 

a  party  escaped  with  two  batteaux  and  five  barrels  of  provisions.  Sergt.  Cope 
was  stationed  at  Detroit  in  Oct.,  1763,  and  may  have  been  the  sergeant  here 
mentioned. 

"When    they    reached    Sandusky   they    found   it   in    ruins    and    therefore    made 
their  way  to  Presqu'ile  where  they  reported  their   disaster  to  Ensign  Christie. 


138  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

had  discovered  and  captured  the  boats  and  killed  the  men. 
And  this  was  the  case. 

The  Hurons  of  the  evil  band,  and  the  Pottawattamies, 
had  learned  some  days  before  that  the  sergeant  who  had 
set  out  for  Niagara  in  the  preceding  April  in  quest  of 
provisions  and  men  was  returning  with  both  for  relief  of 
the  Fort,  and  they  resolved  upon  the  destruction  of  all. 
To  that  end  they  went  and  lay  in  ambush  upon  the  shore  of 
the  lake  w^here  they  could  w-atch  them  pass.  This  sergeant, 
who  did  not  know  what  had  happened  at  the  fort,  because 
all  was  quiet  when  he  left  for  Niagara,  did  not  have  any 
suspicions  of  the  Indians  and  sailed  along  peacefully  and 
w^ithout  fear  on  the  lake  to  Pine  Point  (Point  Pelee), 
forty-five  miles  from  Detroit,  wdiere  he  camped  for  the 
night  to  do  the  cooking  for  the  next  day,  following  the 
custom  of  the  voyageiirs.  The  Indians  v/ho  were  hidden 
in  bushes  and  dense  shrubs  exactly  in  that  spot  allow^ed 
them  to  disembark  and  pitch  camp,  and  even  pass  the  night 
undisturbed.  The  people  of  the  convoy,  thinking  them- 
selves secure,  were  content  merely  to  put  a  guard  over  the 
boats  for  fear  the  wind  might  come  up  in  the  night  and 
set  them  adrift.     The  others  rested  in  peace. 

The  Indians  who  were  planning  to  attack  them  did  not 
sleep  any  during  the  night  for  fear  their  prey  should  escape 
them  while  they  slept.  At  daybreak  they  fell  upon  the 
voyagers  who  were  fast  asleep.  Without  giving  them  time 
to  defend  themselves  they  rushed  upon  the  camp,  massacred 
several,  and  made  prisoners  of  the  remainder,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  thirty-five  men  and  an  officer  who  threw  them- 
selves almost  naked  into  two  barges  and  put  out  across  the 
lake  at  a  venture  in  the  direction  of  Sandusky®'.  All  the 
remaining  barges  to  the  number  of  eighteen,  and  from 
twenty  to  thirty  men,  fell  into  the  clutches  of  the  savages 
who  brought  them  into  the  river  to  take  them  to  Pontiac's 
camp  by  going  up  along  the  other  shore,  one  after  another, 
in  a  string. 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        139 

Les  avoient  decouverts  et  S'etaient  enpare  de  voiture 
appres  avoir  tue  Le  monde,  ce  qui  etait  aussi. 

Les  hurons  de  mauvaise  Bande  et  les  poux  qui  quelque 
Jours,  auparavant  avoient  eu  nouvelle,  que  le  Sergent  qui 
etait  partis  pour  Niagara,  Le  mois  d'Avril  precedent  pour 
aller  chercher  des  vivres  et  du  monde,  revenait  avec  du  se- 
cours  pour  le  fort,  des  deux  fagon,  resolurent  La  perte  dutout, 
pour  cela  ils  setoient  alle  embusquer  Sur  Le  bord  du  Lac 
pour  Les  guester  passe,  ce  Sergent  qui  n'etait  point  pre- 
veniis  de  ce  qui  sepassait  au  fort,  avec  ce  que  quand  il 
partis  pour  niagara  tout  etoient  Bien  tranquille,  ne  se 
mefiait  point  des  nations,  vogois  paisiblement  et  Sans 
crainte  Sur  Le  Lac,  j usque  a  la  pointe  a  pin  a  dix  huit 
Lieux  du  Detroit  ou  il  campa  Le  Soir,  suivant  La  Coutume 
des  voyageurs  pour  faire  chaudiere  pour  Le  Landemain. 
Les  Sauvages  qui  etaient  directement  cache  en  cette  en- 
droit  dans  des  Buissons  et  des  petits  bois  touftis  Les  Lais- 
serent  debarque  et  dresse  Leurs  Camp  et  mesme  passe  La 
nuit  tranquille,  ceux  du  Convoy  qui  se  croyaient  en  siirete 
Se  contenterent  de  mettre  seulement  une  garde  aux  voiture, 
crainte  que  le  vent  venant  dans  La  nuit  a  prendre  tout  a 
coup,  n'envoya  Les  Berges  au  Large  et  tout  le  restent  re- 
posoient  tranquillement. 

Les  Sauvages  qui  avoient  desseins  de  faire  coup  Sur  eux 
ne  dormirent  pas  de  la  nuit  de  peur  que  endormant  Leurs 
preye  ne  vint  a  leurs  echape  et  a  la  pointe  du  jour  at- 
taquerent  nos  voyageurs  qui  etoient  encor  endormis  Sans 
Leurs  donne  Le  tems  de  Se  reveille  tomberent  Sur  Le 
Camp  en  massacrerent  plusieurs  et  prirent  Les  autres 
prisonniers  a  la  Reserve  trente  cinq  hommes  et  un  officier 
qui  presque  tons  nud  Se  jetterent  dans  deux  Berges  et 
traverserent  Le  Lac  a  tout  hazard  du  Coste  de  Sandosque 
Sans  Sqavoir  ou  ils  allaient  tout  le  reste  des  Berges  au 
nombre  de  dix  huit  avec  environs  de  vingt  a  trente  hommes, 
aux  mains  des  Sauvages  qui.  S'emparerent  de  tout  Et 
Les  amenerent  dans  La  riviere  pour  Les  Conduire  au 
camp    de    pondiak    et    Les    fesait    monte      Le    long    du 


140  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

In  the  first  barge  were  four  English  soldiers  and  three 
Indians,  and  the  other  boats  were  manned  about  the  same. 
Other  Indians  followed  the  barges  along  the  shore  utter- 
ing from  time  to  time  war-cries  and  yells  of  joy.  When 
the  four  Englishmen  came  opposite  the  big  vessel  which 
was  anchored  in  front  of  the  Fort  as  a  counter-defense, 
they  undertook  to  escape  in  spite  of  the  savages  who  were 
with  them  and  the  risk  they  were  taking.  They  hoped  that 
the  sloop  would  notice  their  design  and  assist  them,  as  was 
the  case,  and  they  turned  straight  toward  her.  When  the 
Indians  with  them  saw  their  prisoners'  scheme  they  threw 
themselves  upon  them  to  make  them  take  another  course, 
but  the  Englishmen  never  wavered,  keeping  right  on  yell- 
ing to  the  vessel  which  at  once  replied  v,ith  two  cannon 
shots,  one  a  ball  at  the  Indians  who  were  on  land  shooting 
at  the  escaping  English  in  the  boat,  the  other  of  grape-shot 
at  the  Indians  who  were  in  the  stern  of  the  barge. 

The  two  shots  produced  the  expected  effect.  The  can- 
non-ball scattered  the  savages  on  the  shore,  and  the  grape- 
shot  caused  those  on  the  barge  to  abandon  it  by  jumping 
overboard  to  swim  ashore.  One  of  the  three,  as  he  leaped 
into  the  water,  dragged  an  Englishman  with  him  and  both 
were  drowned  together.  The  other  two  gained  the  shore 
and  seizing  guns  from  their  companions  fired  upon  the 
escaping  barge,  and  slightly  wounded  a  soldier  in  the  right 
arm.  The  vessel  fired  two  more  shots  at  the  Indians  and 
drove  them  from  the  edge  of  the  river ;  the  three  remaining 
soldiers  with  the  barge  reached  the  other  boat  with  diffi- 
culty, badly  used  up,  saving  themselves  and  fourteen  hun- 
dred pounds  of  flour,  and  a  thousand  pounds  of  bacon. 

The  rest  of  the  Indians  who  had  remained  behind  saw 
how  the  first  barge  with  the  soldiers  had  escaped  in  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  their  companions,  and  they  feared  that  the 
others  would  escape  likewise.  They  decided  on  other 
means  of  getting  to  camp ;  landing,  they  tied  their  prisoners 
and  led  them  in  this  way  overland  to  the  Ottawa  village, 
and  then  carried  them  in  canoes  which  their  women  had 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'unE    CONSPIRATION        141 

bord  de  la  barge  de  I'autre  coste  de  la  riviere  a  la 
queu  L'une  de  I'autre,  dans  la  premiere  il  y  avait  quatre 
soldats  anglais  et  trois  Sauvages  et  dans  les  autres  berges 
a  propotion  etaient  a  peu  pres  La  mesme  quantite  de  monde 
et  d'autres  Sauvages,  Suivaient  par  terre  Les  berges  qui 
allaient  par  eaux  fesant  des  oris  de  mort  et  des  cris  de 
Joye  de  distance  en  distance,  Les  quatre  anglais  qui  etoient 
dans  La  premiere  Berge  Se  voyant  au  droit  de  la  grosse 
B'erge  qui  etait  reste  mouille  devant  Lefort  pour  La  Contre- 
garde,  entreprirent  de  Se  Sauver,  malgre  Les  Sauvages  qui 
etoient  avec  eux  Sans  envisage  Le  risque  qu'ils  Courroient 
Esperant  que  La  Barque  S'appergevant  de  leurs  desseins  Les 
favoriseroient,  ce  qui  fut  aussi,  de  Sorte  qu'ils  tournerent 
droit  a  elle.  Les  Sauvages  qui  etoient  avec  eux  qui  voyant 
Les  dessiens  de  leurs  prisonniers  se  jetterent  Sur  eux  pour 
Leur  faire  prendre  une  autre  route,  mais  Les  anglais  Sans  se 
demonte  poursuivirent  toujours  en  criant  a  la  barge,  qui  aus- 
sitot  envoya  deux  coups  de  canon,  un  a  boulet  Sur  Les  Sau- 
vages, qui  etoient  a  terre  cjui  tiroient  sur  Les  anglais  de  la 
berge,  et  L'autre  la  raisin  dans  le  derriere  de  la  berge  Sur 
Les  Sauvages  qui  y  etoient,  les  deux  coups  de  Canon  firent 
L'effet  qu'ils  S'etoient  attendue,  Le  Boulet  fit  fuire  Les 
Sauvages  qui  etaient  a  terre  et  le  raisin  firent  abandonne 
Au  Sauvage  La  berge  et  Se  jettant  a  la  nage  pour  gagner 
terre  un  des  trois  en  se  Jettant  a  L'eau  entraina  un  anglais 
et  Se  noyerent  tous  deux  de  compagnie.  Les  deux  autres 
se  rendirent  a  terre,  et  prirent  des  fusils  de  leur  camarade 
tirerent  Sur  La  berge  qui  Leurs  echapoient  et  Blesserent 
Legerement  un  Soldat  au  bras  droit.  La  barque  envoya 
encore  deux  coup  de  canon  Sur  Les  Sauvages  qui  Les  fit 
eclipse  du  bord  de  la  riviere  et  La  berge  et  les  trois  autres 
Soldats  se  rendirent  abord  avec  peine  et  bien  maltraite  et 
Sauverent  avec  eux  Sept  quart  de  farine  et  cinq  de  Lard. 
Les  autres  sauvages  qui  etaient  reste  derriere,  qui  avoient 
vu  que  malgre  que  Leurs  comarade,  de  la  premiere  Berge 
avec  Les  Soldats  S'etoient  Sauve  et  craignant  que  Les 
autres  ne  Leurs  echapassent  de  mesme,  prirent  d'autres  me 
Sures  pour  Les  rendre  au  Camp,   fesant  debarque  Leurs 


142  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

brought  straight  to  Pontiac's  camp.  Upon  their  arrival 
here,  following  orders  which  they  had  received,  they  en- 
gaged in  a  butchery  so  bloody  that  the  mere  recital  of  it 
arouses  as  much  horror  as  the  spectacle  itself.  This  is  the 
way  of  it: 

As  soon  as  the  canoes  had  landed  in  front  of  the  camp 
the  savages  disembarked  their  prisoners,  one  company  after 
another,  upon  the  strand  and  made  them  strip  naked,  and 
other  Indians  then  discharged  their  arrows  into  all  parts  of 
their  bodies.  Sometimes  these  poor  unfortunates  tried  to 
pull  back  or  lie  down  on  the  ground  to  avoid  some  arrow, 
but  the  Indians  who  were  near  made  them  get  up  by  beat- 
ing them  with  clubs  and  their  fists.  In  order  to  satisfy 
these  tigers  thirsting  for  human  blood,  the  poor  victims 
had  to  keep  standing  till  they  fell  dead  in  their  tracks,  and 
then  those  who  had  not  engaged  in  killing  fell  upon  the 
dead  bodies  and  hacked  them  to  pieces,  cooked  them,  and 
feasted  upon  them.  Some  they  treated  with  different 
cruelty,  slashing  them  alive  with  gun-flints,  stabbing  them 
with  spears,  cutting  off  their  hands  and  feet  and  letting 
them  bathe  in  their  own  blood  and  die  in  agony;  others 
were  bound  to  stakes  and  burned  by  children  in  a  slow 
fire. 

There  was  no  cruelty  savagery  could  invent  which  these 
poor  wretches  did  not  suffer.  At  sight  of  the  terrible 
spectacle  one  would  have  said  that  all  the  demons  had  been 
let  loose  upon  these  unhappy  mortals.  As  a  crowning  wick- 
edness, some  of  the  dead  bodies  were  left  lying  unburied 
along  the  way;  others  were  cast  into  the  river  which  in 
this  way  received  the  last  sad  remnants  of  their  rage.  Even 
the  Indian  women  took  a  hand,  helping  their  husbands  to 
glut  themselves  with  the  blood  of  these  poor  victims  by 
likewise  inflicting  a  thousand  cruelties  upon  them.  They 
vied  with  one  another  in  seeing  who  could  cause  the  great- 
est suft'ering;  they  slashed  them  wnth  knife-cuts,  as  we  do 
wdien  we  want  to  lard  beef;  and  some  of  the  women  muti- 
lated them  to  the  point  of  emasculation.    I  could  never  fin- 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        143 

prisonniers  qu'ils  Lierent  et  Les  Conduisirent  en  cette  etat 
par  terre  j usque  au  village  des  Outavois  et  les  traverserent, 
dans  leurs  canots  que  leurs  femmes  avoient  ammenees, 
droit  au  Camp  de  pondiak,  ou  en  arrivant  Suivant  Ses 
ordres  ils  en  firent  une  boucherie  des  plus  sanglantes  dont 
Le  recit  Seul  fait  fremir,  que  le  Spectacle  voicy  comment: 
Sitost  que  Les  Canots  furent  arrives  a  terre  vis-a-vis  du 
camp,  Ses  barbares  firent  debarques  Leurs  prisonniers  Les 
uns  apres  Les  autres  Sur  le  bord  de  la  greve  Les  fesant 
deshabilles  tout  nud  et  d'autres  Sauvages  decocherent  dessus 
des  fleches  dans  toutes  Les  parties  du  corps,  quelquefois 
ces  pauvres  maheureux  Se  voullaient  detourne  ou  se  jet- 
toient  a  terre  pour  eviter  quelque  trait.  Les  Sauvages  qui 
etaient  a  coste  Les  fesoient  seleve  a  tour  de  baton  et  de 
point  il  falait  pour  contenter  ces  tigres  avide  du  sang 
humain  que  ces  pauvre  patiens  restassent  debout,  Jusque  a 
ce  qu'ils  tombassent  mort,  apres  quoi  ceux  qui  n'avoient 
point  tire  tombaient  sur  les  corps  morts,  Les  hachoient  par 
morceaux,  Les  fesaient  cuire  et  S'en  rassaisisoient,  sur 
d'autres  ils  exerqoient  d'autre  cruaute  Les  coupant  tout  en 
vie  avec  des  pieces  a  fusil  Les  dardoient  a  coup  de  Lance 
Leurs  coupoient  Les  pieds  et  les  mains  et  Les  Laissoient 
baigner  dans  Leurs  Sang  mourir  de  Souffrance,  d'autre 
etoient  attache  a  des  poteaux  que  Les  enfans  fesoient  Briile 
i  petit  feux,  il  n'y  avoient  de  cruaute  que  La  Barbaric 
n'invente  que  ces  pauvre  maheureux  n'ayant  Souffert,  a 
voir  ce  terrible  Spectacle  on  aurait  dit  que  toutes  Les  furies 
etaient  dechaines  contre  ces  pauvres  gens  et  pour  couronne 
Leur  tirannie  Les  corps  mort  resterent  en  partie  etendijie 
Le  Long  du  chemin  Sans  Sepulture  et  Les  autres  etoient 
Jette  a  la  riviere  qui  pour  Lors  devenait  heritiere  des  triste 
reste  de  leurs  rage,  il  y  avait  Jusque  aux  femmes  Sauvages 
qui  S'en  meloient,  aidant  a  Leurs  maris  a  se  repaitre  de 
Sang  de  ces  tristes  victimes  en  Leurs  fesant  aussi  Souffrir 
milles  cruantes,  c'etait  a  qui  Les  feroient  plus  Souffrir, 
Les  dardeant  a  coup  de  couteau  comme  quand  nous  voul- 
lons  Larder  du  boeuf,  d'autre  femmes  Leurs  coupoient  ce 


144  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

ish  if  I  wished  to  undertake  the  (complete)  description  of 
the  cruel  sacrifice  and  the  sad  end  of  all  the  unfortunates. 
However,  there  were  some*'*  whose  lives  were  saved  by 
being  adopted  to  work  as  slaves  in  the  camp  of  the  savages 
and  witness  the  tyrannical  death  of  their  countrymen. 

After  they  had  surrendered  their  prisoners  to  the  Ot- 
tawas,  the  Hurons  returned  to  join  the  guards  of  the  cap- 
tured barges  which  they  took  to  their  own  villages  along 
with  the  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  convoy.  They  kept  him 
with  the  intention  of  treating  him  as  the  Ottawas  had 
treated  the  others,  and  waited  till  dusk  to  take  the  barges 
to  Pontiac,  the  great  chief,  so  that  he  and  all  his  band 
might  share  their  prize. 

The  barges  were  loaded  with  powder  and  lead  in  bars, 
which  was  lucky  for  the  Indians  who  were  running  short. 
There  were  also  flour  and  bacon,  each  barge  carrying  a  ton 
of  each,  and  liquor  and  fresh  provisions  for  the  officers  of 
the  Fort.  The  liquor  caused  great  disorder  in  the  camp; 
the  savages  got  drunk  and  fought  among  themselves,  and 
the  taunts  exchanged  led  to  the  death  of  two  young  braves 
the  next  day. 

The  Indian  women  who  understood  the  behavior  of  their 
men  hid  their  weapons  while  they  were  drinking  for  fear 
they  would  kill  one  another;  and  in  order  that  the  adopted 
prisoners  should  not  suffer  any  they  secreted  them  out  of 
their  husbands'  sight.  The  chiefs,  however,  did  not  drink, 
and  when  they  saw  the  disorder  which  the  liquor  caused  in 
camp  they  knocked  in  the  rest  of  the  barrels  and  spilled  the 
contents  on  the  ground.    In  this  way  concord  was  restored. 

Pontiac  kept  Campbell  and  MacDougal,  his  two  prison- 
ers, under  his  eyes;  through  a  ruse  in  the  first  days  of  the 
siege  he  had  them  hidden  some  distance  away  at  the  house 
of  a  French  settler,  under  guard  of  ten  reliable  Indians,  so 
that  no  harm  should  befall  them. 


•'John  Severings  and  James  Connor  were  kept  to  serve  the  Indians  and  were 
made  to  work  upon  the  rafts  built  by  the  Indians.  Thomas  Cooper  was  put 
upon  a  farm  and  never  saw  a  Frenchman  during  his  life  with  the  Indians. 
Gladwin  MMS. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        145 

qui  fait  rhomme.  Je  n'aurais  jamais  fini  Si  Je  voullais 
entreprendre  La  description  de  Sy  cruelle  Sacrifice  et  de 
la  triste  fin  de  tons  Ses  malheureux,  il  y  en  eti,  cependant 
quelqu'im  qui  eurent  La  vie  Sauve  etant  adopte  pour  Servir 
comme  esclave  chez  Les  Sauvages  dans  Leurs  Camp,  et 
pour  Estre  Spectateur  de  la  mort  tirannique  de  Leurs 
compatriotte. 

Les  hurons  qui  avoient  Livres  aux  outaouis  Leurs  prison- 
niers,  Etaient  revenus  rejoindre  Les  gardiens  des  Berges 
qu'ils  menerent  a  Leurs  villages  avec  Le  Sergent  conduc- 
teur  des  berges  qu'ils  avoient  garde  pour  Luy  en  faire 
autant  que  Les  Outaouis  avoient  fait  aux  autres,  et  atten- 
derent  Jusque  a  la  Brune  pour  mener  les  berges  chez  pon- 
diak  Le  grand  chef  pour  Le  faire  Luy  et  toute  sa  bande 
participant  de  leurs  prise. 

Ces  berges  etaient  charge  de  poudre  et  plomb  en  barre 
ce  qui  fit  Bien  au  Sauvages  qui  etoient  pres  d'en  manquer, 
il  y  avait  des  farines  et  du  Lard  en  quard,  chaque  berge 
avoient  dix  quart,  tant  farine  que  Lard,  il  y  avait  aussi 
de  la  boisson  et  des  rafraichissements  pour  ces  messieurs 
du  fort,  les  boissons  causerent  un  grand  desordre  dans  le 
Camp.  Les  Sauvages  Se  Soulerent  et  se  sont  batue  Entre 
eux,  se  faisant  de  reproche  qui  furent  cause  de  La  mort  de 
deux  jeunes  Etourdies  Le  Lendemain. 

Les  femmes  Sauvages  qui  etaient  au  faites  de  la  man- 
oeuvre de  leurs  maris  Lorsqu'ils  buvoient  cacherent  Leurs 
armes  offensives  de  peur  qu'ils  ne  se  tuassent  Entre  eux, 
et  craignant  aussi  que  Les  prisonniers  adopte  n'en  souf- 
frissent,  ils  furent  Les  cache  hors  de  la  vue  de  leurs  maris, 
il  n'y  eu  que  Les  chefs  qui  ne  burent  point  qui  S'apper- 
cevant  du  desordre  que  causait  La  boisson  dans  Leurs 
Camp,  deffoncerent  Le  reste  des  Barils  et  renverserent  Les 
Boisson  par  terre  et  par  ce  moyen  remis  L'union  entre  eux. 

Pondiak  qui  couvaient  de  ses  yeux  Mrs.  Cambel  et  Mag- 
dan,  Ses  deux  priSonniers  avait  fait  par  ruse  Les  premiers 
jours  de  L'attaque  Les  fit  cache  au  Loing  chez  un  habitans 
frangais  et  les  commis  a  la  garde  de  dix  Sauvages  con- 
sidere  pour  qu'il  ne  Leurs  arriva  point  aucun  mal. 


146  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

May  31.     Tuesday. 

In  spite  of  the  precautions  which  Pontiac  had  taken 
against  further  disorder  among  his  men  by  spilling  the 
liquor,  there  was  still  enough  of  it  left  so  that  some  Indians 
filled  kettles  to  the  brim  with  brandy,  and  took  them  into 
the  woods  where  they  could  drink  more  at  their  ease  dur- 
ing the  night.  Then  they  came  back  drunk  to  stir 
up  quarrels  with  the  young  men  by  insulting  them  about  the 
courage  a  good  warrior  ought  to  show;  and  these  young 
braves  who  were  also  under  the  influence  of  drink  were 
so  aroused  and  puffed  up  with  pride  that  they  went  reck- 
lessly to  prove  their  courage  and  so  met  their  death  before 
the  Fort. 

Two  of  them  ran  up  as  if  they  would  take  the  Fort 
themselves  by  assault;  the  sentries  who  were  on  guard 
above  the  north  gate,  when  they  saw  them  coming  as  hard 
as  they  could  run,  suspected  that  they  had  some  evil  design 
in  view  and  fired  down  and  mortally  wounded  both  of  them. 
One  received  a  bullet  which  traversed  his  head  from  side 
to  side,  going  in  at  the  right  eye  and  coming  out  on  the 
left  side  above  the  jaw,  and  two  buck  shots  through  the 
body  in  two  places ;  he  dropped  in  his  tracks,  and  was  picked 
up  by  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  and  brought  to  the  Fort. 
Here  he  was  exposed  to  public  gaze  as  long  as  he  remained 
alive  from  his  wounds,  and  then  buried  in  a  corner  of  the 
bastion.  The  other  savage,  his  companion,  was  shot  twice 
through  the  body,  and  crawled  away  and  died  almost  a 
fifth  of  a  mile  from  the  Fort.  Other  Indians  carried  him 
away  and  buried  him  near  their  camp. 

The  Indians  of  the  camp,  sick  on  account  of  their  drink- 
ing of  the  day  before,  kept  quiet  the  whole  day  and  did 
not  come  to  fire  a  single  shot  at  the  Fort. 

A  Frenchman  who  had  stayed  in  the  Fort  to  keep  watch 
of  a  private  house  which  was  just  outside,  and  who  was 
getting  tired  of  being  shut  up,  was  looking  for  some  way 
to  escape,  but  did  not  know  how  to  do  it.  As  he  knew 
that   the    Commandant   was   casting   about    quietly    for  a 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        147 

31e  May. — Le  Mardy  31e  May. — Malgre  Les  precau- 
tions que  pondiak  avoit  prise  pour  qu'il  n'arriva  plus  de 
desordre  parmi  Ses  gens  en  renversant  la  boisson,  il  y  en 
eu  encore  par  lequel  quelque  Sauvage  qui  avoient  emplis 
des  chaudieres  toute  pleine  d'eaude  vie  Et  S'etoient  alle 
mettre  dans  le  Bois  pour  Boire  plus  a  leurs  aise  dans  La 
nuit  Et  etant  Soul  vinrent  au  Camp  pour  engendre  querelle 
aux  jeunes  gens,  Leur  faisant  des  reproches  touchant  Le 
courage  dont  un  bon  guerrier  doit  etre  munis,  ces  derniers 
qui  etoient  aussi  pris  de  boisson  Se  trouverent  tellement 
pique  et  gonfle  d'Orgueil,  pour  prouver  Leurs  courage  qu'ils 
vinrent  imprudemment  cherche  Leurs  mort  au  pied  du  fort 
En  accourant  comme  S'ils  eussent  voulluent  a  deux  qu'ils 
etaient  Le  prendre  d'assaut.  Les  factionnaires  c[ui  etaient 
audessus  de  la  porte  du  coste  du  nord  es  Les  voyant 
venirent  a  toute  jambe  Se  mefierent  bien  qu'ils  avaient 
quelque  mauvais  dessein  tirerent  dessus  et  Les  Blesserent 
tous  deux  a  mort.  L'un  regue  une  balle  qui  Luy  pergais 
La  teste  de  pore  en  pore  entrant  par  I'oeil  droit  et  Sortait 
a  gauche  au  dessus  de  la  machoir  et  deux  postes  qui  Luy 
traversait  Le  corps  a  deux  endroits  ce  qui  Lefit  tombe  Sur 
la  place  et  fut  ramasse  par  des  Soldats  de  la  garnison,  Et 
entre  dans  Le  fort  Expose  a  la  vue  du  public  tout  le  temp 
qu'il  a  reste  en  vie,  apres  Ses  blessures  et  fut  enterre  dans 
un  coin  de  Bastillon,  L'autre  sauvage.  Son  camarade  regu 
deux  Balles  aux  travers  du  corps  et  fut  mourir  a  cinq 
arpens  du  fort  et  fut  ramasse  par  d'autre  Sauvages  et 
Enterre  pres  du  Camp. 

Les  Sauvages  du  Camp  malades  de  la  Boisson  qu'ils 
avaient  bu  Le  jour  precedent  furent  en  repos  tous  Le  jours 
et  ne  vinrent  point  tire  Sur  le  fort,  un  francais  qui  etait 
reste  dans  le  fort  pour  garde  La  Maison  particulier  qui 
etoient  dehors  et  qui  chagrin  de  Se  voir  renferme,  cherchois 
tous  Les  moyens  de  Sortir  pour  S'epouffer,  mais  il  ne 
savait  comment  faire,  comme  il  Sgavait  que  Mr.  Le  Com- 
mandant cherchais  par  sous  main  un  homme  fiable  pour 


148  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

trustworthy  man  to  send  to  Niagara  overland  to  warn  the 
commander  of  that  place  of  what  was  occurring  here,  he 
resolved  to  make  himself  of  use  to  the  officers  under  the 
pretext  that  he  knew  how  to  speak  English  a  little,  and  in 
this  way  get  a  chance  to  go  outside.  To  this  end  he  relied 
upon  the  assistance  of  an  English  trader  to  whom  he  re- 
ported all  that  the  other  Frenchmen  said  among  themselves. 
This  trader  who  had  had  several  conversations  with  him  in 
which  he  sounded  him  to  the  bottom,  saw  that  he  was  a 
scoundrel  and  a  traitor  to  his  country,  and  would  not  pre- 
sent him  to  the  Commandant. 

Seeing  that  the  trader  did  not  listen  to  him  and  that  he 
could  not  accomplish  anything  in  this  way,  Luneau — this 
was  the  Frenchman's  name — made  use  of  the  influence  of 
a  young  woman  who  was  intimate  with  the  officers.  This 
young  woman  whose  name  was  Miss  Des  Rivieres*^^  men- 
tioned him  to  the  Commandant,  at  the  same  time  extolling 
his  ability  and  making  mention  of  the  fact  that  he  could 
speak  English.  The  Commandant  sent  for  him;  he  came 
and  without  much  examination  was  engaged  upon  the  word 
of  this  young  woman  for  the  errand  which  the  Command- 
ant wanted  done.  He  was  equipped  with  all  that  he  would 
need  for  the  trip ;  and  beginning  with  this  day  his  pay  was 
reckoned  at  six  livres  per  day,  to  be  given  him  upon  his 
return.  The  same  evening  he  received  letters  for  Niagara, 
and  in  the  night  he  departed  and  was  rowed  across  the 
river  by  the  soldiers.  However,  the  scoundrel,  instead  of 
heading  for  Niagara  when  he  landed,  as  he  had  led  the 
officer  to  believe  he  would  do,  remained  on  the  eastern 
shore  a  whole  day,  divulging  what  was  happening  at  the 
Fort.  Next,  he  went  down  to  the  southern  neighborhood 
where  he  spoke  shamefully  of  the  officers,  and  retailed  a 
tissue  of  absurdities  about  the  French  who  were  in  the 
fort.     Several  people,  as  soon  as  they  saw  he  was  a  knave. 


*°Tliere  was  an  Angelique  Des  Rivieres  who  stood  sponser  at  several  baptisms 
during  the  year  of  the  siege.  She  later  became  the  wife  of  Lieut  Edward  Abbott, 
commander  of  a  detachment  of  Royal  Artillery.  Lieut.  Abbott  was  appointed 
lieutenant-governor  of  Vincennes  but  returned   to   Detroit  with   his  family  in   177S. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        149 

Evoye  a  Niagara  par  terre  pour  avertir  Le  Commandant 
de  cette  place  ce  qui  ce  passait  icy,  il  resolue  de  se  rendre 
Serviable  a  Ses  Mrs.  Sous  pretexte  qu'il  Sgavait  un  peu 
parle  anglais  esperant  par  ce  moyen  avoir  La  Clef  des 
champs,  pour  cette  effet,  il  employa  Le  credit  d'un  mar- 
chand  anglais  a  qui  il  raportait  tous  ce  que  Les  autres 
frangais  disait  entre  eux,  ce  marchand  qui  avait 
eu  avec  Luy  plusieurs  entretiens  dans  Lesquelles  il 
L'avait  sonde  dans  L'interieur,  Le  connaissait  pour 
un  fourbe  et  un  traite  a  sa  patrie  ne  voullij  point  Le 
presenter  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant.  Luneaie,  c'est  ainsy  que 
S'appelait  ce  frangais,  voyant  qu'il  n'etait  pas  ecoute  du 
marchand  et  qu'il  ne  pouvait  reussir  par  son  moyen  em- 
ploya Le  credit  d'une  demoiselle  qui  avals  Beaucoup  d'acces, 
chez  Ses  Messieurs,  cette  d^^^^,  nommee  Mile,  des  rivieres 
Le  proposa  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  Luy  faisant  valloir 
Ses  talents  disant  qu'il  savait  parle  anglais,  Mr.  Le  Com- 
mandant voulu  Levoir,  il  paria  devant  Luy  et  Sans  beau- 
coup  d'examain  Sur  La  parolle  de  cette  d^"^,  il  fut  ac- 
cepte  pour  le  message  que  Le  Commandant  voulait  faire 
faire,  on  L'equipa  de  tout  ce  qui  pouvait  Luy  estre  neces- 
saire  pour  Sa  route  et  Ses  Journees  a  comte  de  ce  jour 
furent  marque  six  £  par  jour  pour  Luy  estre  paye  a  Son 
retour  et  Sur  le  Soir  il  regue  Les  Lettres  pour  niagara  et 
sortis  dans  La  nuit,  et  fut  traverse  par  des  Soldats,  Le 
coquin  au  lieu  de  prendre  en  debarquant  la  route  pour 
Niagara,  comme  il  L'avait  fait  espere  a  se  Mr.  il  resta  dans 
la  coste  de  Test,  toute  la  journee  a  devulgue  ce  qui  sepassait 
au  fort,  apres  il  descendit  dans  la  coste  du  Sud  a  dire  du 
mal  de  ses  ]Mrs.  et  debiter  une  infinite  de  Sotises  des  fran- 
gais  qui  etoient  dans  le  fort,  plusieurs  personnes  S'en  aper- 
Qurent  que  c'etait  un  coquin  Le  menacerent  de  Leprendre 
et  de  L'ammener  au  fort  pour  Le  faire  punir,  Lui  craig- 
nant  que  Les  menaces  n'eurent  Leurs  effets  Se  Sauva  et 


150  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

threatened  to  take  him  and  hand  him  over  to  the  Fort  for 
his  just  deserts;  and  fearing  these  threats  might  be  carried 
out,  he  fled  off  toward  the  Illinois  country  in  a  couple  of 
days  and  was  never  seen  in  the  region  again. 

When  the  Commandant  learned  through  the  avowal  of 
this  young  woman  the  same  day  that  the  Frenchman  had 
already  offered  himself  several  times  and  had  asked  the 
trader  to  speak  for  him,  he  reprimanded  the  trader  for  not 
having  done  so.  The  trader  offered  as  excuse  that  he  did 
not  know  this  man,  and  that  he  did  not  want  to  introduce 
him  without  knowing  him  well,  because  for  such  commis- 
sions one  needed  men  who  could  be  relied  upon.  As  soon 
as  the  Commandant  discovered  the  rascally  trick  which 
the  Frenchman  had  played  upon  him,  he  praised  the  con- 
duct of  the  trader  and  blamed  the  indiscreet  zeal  of  the 
young  woman ;  she  was,  so  to  speak,  regarded  by  him  with 
contempt,  this  being  the  proper  reward  which  her  work 
deserved. 

June  1.     Wednesday. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  two  soldiers  and  a 
trader  who  had  been  captured  and  adopted  by  the  Indians 
escaped  from  their  camp  and  reached  the  Fort.  It  was 
learned  from  them  that  Wasson'*^,  the  great  chief  of  the 
Chippewas  of  Saginaw,  had  arrived  the  day  before  with 
tv/o  hundred  savages  of  his  band;  and  that  immediately 
after  his  arrival  at  Pontiac's  camp  they  had  held  a  council 
and  decided  to  harass  the  Fort  no  longer  but  to  bar  the 
approaches  so  that  no  more  assistance  could  reach  the 
English,  and  to  this  end  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Flurons, 
and  Pottawattamies  were  to  depart  this  very  day  to  go  and 
prowl  around  the  lake  and  capture  the  English  they  should 
find  there. 

The  thing  which  seemed  to  confirm  what  the  prisoners 


'"It  was  Wasson  who  avenged  the  death  of  his  nephew  by  killing  Capt.  Camp- 
bell on  July  4th.  During  Rutherford's  captivity,  Wasson  purchased  the  captive 
and  brought  him  to  live  in  his  family.  He  treated  him  kindly,  giving  him  no 
labors  to  perform  and  intimated  that  he  wanted  him  to  become  his  son-in-law. 
Wasson  was  one  of  the  company  who  attended  Morris  on  a  part  of  his  trip  to 
the  Illinois  country  in  1764.  His  name  is  spelled  in  many  ways:  Wasaong, 
Warsong,    Wasso  and    Owasser. 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        151 

pris  La  route  pour  Les  illinois  au  bout  de  trois  jours  et 
n'a  plus  parus  sur  Les  terres  de  L'endroit. 

Mr,  Le  Commandant  Sgue  par  Laveu  de  cette  demoiselle 
Le  mesme  jour  que  ce  franqais  S'etait  offert  deja  plusieurs 
fois  et  qu'il  avait  employe  Le  marchand  pour  parle  pour 
Luy,  reprimanda  Le  Marchand  de  ne  L'avoir  pas  dit  Le 
Marchand  s'excusa  Sur  ce  qu'il  ne  connaissait  pas  cet 
homme  et  qu'il  ne  voulait  pas  Le  presente  Sans  Le  Bien 
connaitre,  parce  que  pour  des  Commissions  pareilles  il 
fallait  des  hommes  de  qui  L'on  fut  Sure,  Sistot  que  Le 
Commandant  Sgut  Le  tour  de  coquin  que  Le  frangais  fesait 
Loua  La  conduite  du  marchand  et  Blama  Lezelle  indiscret 
de  la  demoiselle  qui  fut  pour  ainsi  dire  regarde  du  Com- 
mandant qu'avec  mepris,  comme  etant  La  juste  recompense 
quelle  meritais  de  Son  travaille. 

ler  de  Juin. — Le  mercredi  pre.  de  Juin. — Sur  Les  deux 
heures  du  matin  deux  Soldats  et  un  marchand  qui  avaient 
ete  pris  par  Les  Sauvages  et  adopte  Se  Sauverent  du  camp 
et  Sont  entre  dans  Le  fort  L'on  Sgu  par  eux  que  Ouasson 
grand  chef  des  Sauteux  du  Saguinaw  etait  arrive  avec 
deux  cens  Sauvages  de  Sa  bande  Le  Jour  precedent,  Et 
qu'en  arrivant  au  Camp  de  pondiak,  ils  avoient  tenus  con- 
seil  pour  ne  plus  inquieter  Le  fort,  que  Les  passages  ne 
fussent  Bare,  pour  qu'il  ne  vint  plus  de  Secours  a  Ses  Mrs. 
et  pour  cela  Les  Sauvages  Outavois,  Sauteux,  hurons  et 
poux  devaient  partir  ce  jour  pour  aller  rode  Sur  Le  Lac  pour 
prendre  Les  anglais  qu'ils  y  verroient,  ce  qui  fit  croire  que 
ce  que  Les  prisonniers  echape  raportaient  etait  vraix,  c'est 
que  L'on  vis  passer  par  derriere  Lefort  pardans  Le  Bois, 
aux  Environs  de  trois  cens  hommes  qui  dessendaient  pour 
Se  joindre  aux  paux  et  aux  hurons  qui  etoient  campe  a 
une  demie  Lieux  -au  dessous  du  fort,  pour  aller  tons  en- 
semble ecumer  Le  Lac,  il  ne  restait  dans  les  camps  que 
Les  chefs  de  chaque  nation  pour  donner  Leurs  aides  aux 
jeunes  gens  qui  restaient  avec  eux  pour  La  garde  des  en- 


152  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

had  reported  was  that  people  saw  passing  behind  the  Fort 
through  the  woods  something  like  three  hundred  men,  who 
were  going  down  to  join  the  Pottawattamies  and  Hurons 
encamped  a  mile  and  a  quarter  below  the  Fort,  so  that  all 
could  together  go  to  scour  the  lake.  Only  the  chiefs  of 
each  nation  were  left  in  camp  to  give  their  help  to  the 
young  men  who  remained  behind  to  guard  the  section 
around  the  Fort  so  the  Englishmen  could  not  get  out  to 
visit  the  surrounding  regions — a  thing  they  had  no  desire 
to  do,  knowing  full  well  it  would  not  be  good  for  them. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  judge  and  the 
commissary  for  the  third  time  made  a  round  of  the  French 
houses  to  collect  food  for  subsistence  till  the  return  of  the 
sloop  which  was  expected  before  long. 
June  2.  Thursday;  Corpus  Christi  Day. 
In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  some  shots  were  fired  bj 
the  savages  who  had  stayed  to  watch  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Fort.  However,  it  amounted  to  so  little  that  the  offi- 
cers were  content  to  observe  their  doing  without  returning 
the  fire,  seeing  very  well  that  it  would  be  so  much  powder 
wasted. 

In  the  night,  around  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  an 
English  soldier  who  had  been  a  prisoner  of  the  Ottawas 
escaped  from  their  camp  and  reached  the  Fort  entirely 
naked.  He  brought  a  letter  to  the  Commandant  which  Mr. 
Campbell  who  was  actually  a  prisoner  in  the  camp  gave 
him  for  Mr.  Gladwyn.  This  letter  had  been  found  by  the 
Hurons  in  the  spoils  of  the  leader  (of  a  convoy)  whom 
they  had  killed,  and  was  brought  into  the  camp  to  Pontiac. 
He  gave  it  to  Mr.  Campbell  to  read,  having  Mr.  La  Butte, 
his  interpreter,  explain  it  to  him.  Mr.  Campbell  aided  in 
the  flight  of  the  prisoner  in  order  to  enable  the  letter  to 
reach  Mr.  Gladwyn,  Commandant  of  the  Fort.  It  was 
written  by  an  officer  of  Niagara  to  a  friend  of  his  in  com- 
mand at  Miami,  and  in  it  he  noted  the  conclusion  of  peace 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        153 

virons  du  fort,  de  peur  qu'il  ne  Sortis  aucun  anglais  du 
fort  pour  aller  dans  Les  Costes  ce  qu'ils  n'avoient  pas  en 
vie  de  faire  Sgachant  Bien  qu'il  ny  fesait  pas  bon  pour  eux. 

Ce  mesme  jour,  L'apres  midy,  Le  Juge  et  Le  Commis- 
saire,  la  troisieme  fois — firent  La  visite  dans  Les  maison 
frangaises  pour  avoir  des  vivres  pour  Subsister  jusqu'au 
retour  de  la  barque  que  L'on  attendait  sous  peu. 

2e  Juin. — Le  Jeudij  2e  de  Juin. — Jour  de  la  grande  feste 
De  Dieu  il  y  tu  quelque  coup  de  fusil  de  tire  dans  L'apres 
midy  de  la  part  des  Sauvages  qui  etoient  reste  pour  garde 
Les  environs  du  fort,  mais  ce  fut  Si  peu  de  chose  que  ces 
Mrs.  se  contenterent  de  Les  regarde  faire,  Sans  faire  tire 
Sur  eux,  voyant  Bien  que  se  ceroient  de  la  poudre  employe 
mal  a  propos. 

Dans  la  nuit  sur  Les  trois  heures  du  matin  un  engage 
anglais  qui  etait  prisonnier  chez  Les  Outaouis  Se  Sauva 
du  Camp  tout  nud  et  vint  au  fort  et  apporta  une  Lettre  a 
Mr.  Le  Commandant  que  Mr.  Cambel  qui  etait  actuelle- 
ment  prisonnier  au  Camp  Luy  donna  pour  remettre  a  Mr. 
Gladouine. 

Cette  lettre  avait  ete  trouve  par  les  hurons  dans  Les 
depouilles  du  conducteur  qu'ils  avoient  tue  et  qui  fut  ap- 
porte  au  Camp  a  pondiak  qui  La  donna  a  Mr.  Cambel  pour 
La  lire  Se  faisant  explique  par  Mr.  La  Butte  son  interprete. 
Mr,  Cambel  facilita  La  fuite  du  prisonnier  pour  La  faire 
tenir  a  Mr.  Gladouine,  Commandant  de  la  place,  cette 
Lettre  etait  ecrite  par  un  officier  de  Niagara  a  un  officier 
de  Ses  amis.  Commandant  aux  Mis-a-Mis,  dans  Laquelle 
il  Luy  marquais  Les  conclusions  de  la  paix  avec  Les  cir- 
constances  ce  qui  donna  Lieu  Sur  Le  Soir  a  un  concert 
d'instrument  en  rejouissance  d'une  Si  bonne  nouvelle. 

3e  Juin. — Le  vendredy  3e  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  furent 
tranquille  toute  La  journee  Sinon  La  garde  a  L'entour  du 
fort  Suivant  Leurs  Coutumes,  Sur  les  dix  heures  du  matin 


154  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

with  all  the  circumstances'^ ^  This  was  the  occasion  of  a 
band  concert  in  the  evening  to  celebrate  the  good  news. 

June  3.     Friday. 

Except  for  those  on  guard  around  the  Fort  the  Indians 
were  quiet  all  day,  as  was  their  custom.  About  ten  o'clock 
the  judge  received  orders  from  the  Commandant  to  as- 
semble all  the  French  who  were  in  the  Fort  to  read  to  them 
the  letter  which  he  had  received  the  day  before  by  the 
prisoner  who  had  escaped.  This  letter  had  been  translated 
into  French  by  a  trader  who  spoke  French  well;  it  an- 
nounced that  peace  had  been  declared  between  England 
and  France,  and  by  virtue  of  agreement  made  between  the 
two  crowns,  Canada,  with  all  the  Illinois  country,  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  English. 

June  4.     Saturday. 

The  Indians  did  on  this  day  as  on  the  preceding.  About 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  people  of  the  Fort  heard 
war-cries  from  the  Indians  who  were  returning  by  land 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  from  the  direction  of  the 
lake.  No  one  knew'^  exactly  what  these  cries  meant  ex- 
cept that  it  was  mistrusted  the  Indians  had  made  some 
capture  upon  the  lake. 

June  5.     Sunday. 

The  Indians  fired  a  few  shots  at  the  Fort  merely  to 
announce  that  they  had  not  all  departed  for  the  lake,  and 
that  they  did  not  intend  to  desist  from  their  mad  enter- 
prise. The  shots  did  such  little  damage  that  the  officers 
gave  them  no  notice. 

In  the  afternoon  about  two  o'clock  Indian  war-cries,  as 
on  the  preceding  day,  were  heard  on  the  other  shore  of  the 
river.  At  these  cries  several  persons  mounted  the  sentry- 
walks  to  discover  what  it  was.  A  number  of  savages  were 
seen, — some  on  foot,  some  on  horseback,  uttering  yells  of 


''^The  Siege  of  Detroit,  June  2  "In  the  afternoon  a  Frenchman  brought  in  a 
letter  that  was  enclosed  to  me  from  Niagara,  which  Capt.  Campbell  gave  in,  by 
which  we  were  informed  that  the  definitive  Treaty  was  signed  at  London  the 
20th  of  Feb."  This  letter  was  evidently  addressed  to  Ensign  Robert  Holmes 
at  Miami  and  enclosed  in  a  letter  from  Campbell  to  the  author  of  the  Diary 
of  the  Siege   of  Detroit. 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'UNE    CONSPIRATION        155 

Mr.  Le  Juge  requ  ordres  de  Mr.  Le  Commandant  du  fort 
de  faire  assemble  tous  Les  frangais  qui  etoient  dans  le  fort 
pour  Leurs  faire  La  lecture  de  La  Lettre  qu'il  avait  regiie 
Le  jour  precedent  par  Le  prisonnier  qui  S'etait  Sauve,  cette 
lettre  avait  ete  traduite  en  francais  par  un  Commerqant 
qui  parlois  bon  frangais,  elle  contenais  que  La  paix  etait 
faite  entre  L'angletere  et  Lafrance  et  par  accord  faite  entre 
Les  deux  Couronnes.  Le  Canada  restait  au  pouvoir  de 
Mrs.  Les  anglais  avec  toutes  les  Illinois. 

4e  Juin. — Le  Samedy  4e  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  furent 
cette  journee  comme  La  precedente  Sur  Les  quatre  heures 
de  I'apres  midy,  il  fut  entendue  du  fort  des  cris  de  mort 
venant  de  la  part  des  Sauvages  qui  revenoient  a  terre  du 
coste  du  Lac  de  I'autre  bord  de  La  riviere  L'on  ne  pus  pas 
Sgavoir  au  juste  ce  que  pouvait  estre  ces  cris,  Si  non  que 
L'on  se  mefiaient  qu'ils  avaient  quelque  Capture  Sur  Le 
Lac. 

5e  Juin. — Le  dimanche  5e  de  Juin. — Les  Sauvages 
tirerent  quelque  coup  de  fusil  Sur  le  fort  Seulement  pour 
faire  conncitre,  qu'il  n'etoient  pas  tous  partis  pour  Le  Lac 
et  qu'il  ne  voulloient  pas  demordre  de  leurs  folles  entre- 
prise.  Les  coups  qu'ils  tirerent  furent  si  peu  de  chose  qu'il 
ne  meriterent  pas  I'attention  de  Se  Mr. 

Sur  Les  deux  heures  apres  midy  il  fut  encore  entendue 
comme  Le  jour  precedent  des  cris  de  mort  de  I'autre  Bord 
de  la  riviere  qui  venoient  de  la  part  des  Sauvages  a  ces 
cris  plusieurs  personnes  monterent  Sur  Les  chemins  de 
ronde  pour  decouvrir  ce  que  pouvait  Estre  L'on  vit  une 
quantite  de  Sauvages  qui  etoient  a  terre  Les  uns  a  pied 
Les  autres  a  cheval  fesant  de  Sacquoquois  et  des  cris  de 


"During  the  evening  it  was  learned  that  these  demonstrations  were  due  to 
the  rejoicing  over  the  capture  of  Fort  Miami.  On  May  27th,  Fort  Miami  was 
surprised  and  taken,  Ensign  Robert  Holmes,  in  command  of  the  fort,  was  mur- 
dered and  some  of  the  garrison  made  prisoners.  Jacques  Godfrey  '  and  Miny 
Chesne  were  accused   of   having  taken   part   in  its  capture.      Gladwin  MMS. 


156  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

victory  and  joy;  others  were  bringing  up  two  barges  with 
merchandise  and  the  traders  which  they  had  captured  upon 
the  lake,  going  up  along  the  shore  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  with  their  prisoners.  The  sloop,  thinking  to  make 
them  abandon  their  prizes,  fired  several  cannon  shots  at 
them,  but  they  were  too  high  or  too  low,  and  the  savages 
jeered  and  went  on  with  their  capture  to  Pontiac"s  camp. 

June  6.     Monday. 

The  weather,  a  little  dark  and  even  rainy,  caused  the 
Indians  to  be  content  to  hover  around  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Fort  without  firing  a  shot.  On  the  other  hand,  others 
went  to  the  homes  of  the  settlers  to  procure  provisions 
which  were  voluntarily  surrendered.  This  did  not  prevent 
the  savages  from  constantly  harming  them  by  killing  oxen, 
cows,  or  swine,  and  even  in  their  cornfields  which  they 
spoiled  by  their  going  and  coming;  they  did  not  dare  pass 
along  the  big  road  for  fear  of  the  large  sloop  which  sent 
a  cannon  ball  as  soon  as  anyone  was  visible. 

June  7.     Tuesday. 

The  Indians  who  had  not  fired  a  shot  for  two  or  three 
days  and  were  s^etting  tired  of  not  using  powder,  came 
and  kept  up  a  fusillade  upon  the  Fort  from  ten  in  the  morn- 
ing till  seven  at  night.  As  they  had  neither  barns  nor 
any  other  buildings  to  hide  behind  and  shelter  their  ap- 
proach, they  fired  from  behind  the  bluff,  and  frequently 
from  within  the  woods  which  were  almost  seven  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  Fort,  and  separated  by  the  hill  in 
such  a  way  that  their  shots  sometimes  passed  over  the 
Fort.  Other  Indians  were  concealed  farther  away  along 
the  fences  around  the  fields  of  the  settlers,  or  in  the  farm 
buildings  often  beyond  the  range  of  the  sentries'  guns, 
because  of  the  hidden  defenses  which  protected  the  three 
principal  sides  of  the  Fort.  About  seven  o'clock  they 
ceased  firing  and  withdrew  as  satisfied  as  when  they  began. 

June  8.     Wednesday. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Indians  came  to 
Commence  firing.     It  appeared,  as  will  be  seen,  that  when 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        157 

joye,  d'autre  Sauvage  qui  amenaient  deux  berges  charge 
de  marchandises  avec  des  marchands  qu'ils  avoient  pris 
sur  Le  Lac,  et  remontaient  avec  Ses  prisonniers  de  L'autre 
bord  de  La  riviere  Le  long  de  tere,  La  barque  croyant 
Leur  faire  Lache  prise  Leurs  envoya  plusieurs  coups  de 
canon  qui  furent  tire  trop  haut  ou  trop  bas  Les  Sauvages 
S'en  moquerent  et  poursuivirent  Leur  route  jusqu'au  Camp 
de  pondiak  avec  Leurs  prises. 

6e  Juin. — Le  Lundy  6e  de  Juin. — Le  terns  un  peu  em- 
brune  et  mesme  un  peu  pluvieux  fut  cause  que  Les  Sauv- 
ages Se  contenterent  de  veille  aux  environs  du  fort  Sans 
tire  un  coup  de  fusil,  mais  d'autre  en  revanche  furent 
chez  Les  habitans  Leurs  faire  donner  des  vivres,  ce  qu'il 
fesoient  volontairement,  cela  n'empechait  pas  que  Les 
Sauvages  Leurs  fissent  tou jours  queque  tord  en  tuant  Soit 
boeuf,  vache,  ou  cochon  et  mesme  dans  Les  bled  qu'ils 
gatoient  en  allant  et  venant,  parce  qu'il  n'osaient  passer 
Le  Long  du  grand  chemin  a  cause  de  Lagrose  Barque  qui 
des  Lorsqu'elle  en  voyait  quelqu'un  elle  tiroit  dessus. 

7e  Juin. — Le  mardy  7e  de  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
depuis  deux  ou  trois  jours  n'avoient  point  tire  S'ennuyerent 
de  ne  point  user  de  la  poudre,  vinrent  Sur  Les  dix  heures 
du  matin  tire  fu  Sille  Sur  le  fort  jusques  a  Sept  heur  du 
soir.  Comme  ils  n'avoient  plus  ny  grange  ny  autre  batiment 
pour  Se  cacher  et  faire  Les  approche,  ils  tiroient  de 
derriere  Le  coteau  et  Bien  Souvent  de  dedans  Le  bois  qui 
etoit  eloigne  du  fort  pres  de  dix  arpens  et  Sapare  par  Le 
Costeau  de  sorte  que  Souvent  Leurs  coup  passoient  par 
dessus  Le  fort,  d'autre  Sauvages  etoient  plus  Loing  cache 
Le  Long  de  cloture  des  terres  des  habitans  ou  dans  des 
granges  eloigne  Souvent  ors  de  la  porte  des  fusils  de 
factionnaire  a  cause  des  capon  qui  batoient  Sur  Les  trois 
principal  face  du  fort,  Sur  Les  Sept  heures,  ils  cesserent 
de  tire  et  seretirerent  aussi  Satisfait  que  quand  ils  ont 
commence. 

8e  Juin. — Le  mercredi  8e  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  vinrent 
Sur  les  huit  heures  du  matin  pour  tire  il  paroissait  mesme 


158     JOURNAL  OR  NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

they  began  the  action  they  intended  to  keep  it  up  for  some 
time,  but  a  slight  rain  changed  their  minds  and  compelled 
them  to  retire  to  their  camp.  They  left  guards  only,  ac- 
cording to  their  custom,  to  see  that  nobody  went  out  or 
came  in  who  might  be  an  obstacle  to  them.  Still,  there 
were  always  some  going  and  coming,  but  these  were 
respected  among  the  Indians  who  did  not  have  any  distrust 
of  them. 

In  the  afternoon  the  officers  were  warned  by  a  resident 
of  the  region  that  the  Indians  planned  to  make  an  assault 
during  the  night  under  cover  of  the  storm.  The  officers 
who  had  become  acquainted  with  the  strategy  of  the  sav- 
ages since  the  beginning  of  hostilities  replied  that  they 
were  ready  for  them.  They  thought  that  this  pretended 
enterprise  would  end  like  the  others;  but  since  distrust 
is  the  mother  of  security,  in  order  not  to  be  surprised  they 
were  on  their  guard  with  the  troops  the  whole  night  long 
which  passed  as  quietly  as  if  they  had  been  in  their  beds. 
At  sunset  three  war-cries  were  heard  in  the  direction  of 
the  Huron  village,  but  no  one  knew  what  it  meant. 

June  9.    Thursday;  Little  Corpus  Christi  Day. 

The  Indians  who  kept  up  their  firing  through  impetu- 
osity only,  were  quite  tranquil  all  day.  Toward  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  thirteen  war-cries  were  heard  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  the  curiosity  of  a  good 
many  English  and  French  was  aroused;  they  mounted  to 
the  top  of  the  stockade  to  discover  the  cause  of  it.  One 
could  see  a  large  number  of  Indians  on  horseback  and  on 
foot,  running  about  uttering  war-whoops  and  yells  of  joy, 
and  firing  upon  the  big  sloop  which  was  anchored  in  front 
of  the  Fort;  one  could  also  see  other  Indians  who  were 
coming  by  water  along  the  land  with  three  barges'^^  and 
some  prisoners  that  they  had  captured  upon  the  lake. 
These  Indians  were  a  part  of  those  who  had  gone  to  watch 
the  lake.    When  they  passed  in  front  of  the  sloop,  she  fired 

''^These  barges  were  taken  by  the  Chippewas  near  where  Cuyler  was  surprised. 
There  were  eleven  persons  in  them,  two  were  killed  and  the  rest  made  prisoners. 
Siege   of  Detroit. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        159 

que  suivant  comme  il  commenQoient  Leurs  actions  il  avoient 
en  vie  de  tire  Longtemps  mais  mie  petitte  pluye  Les  fit 
change  de  sentimens  et  Les  obligea  de  Se  retirer  a  leurs 
camp  Laissant  seulement  Leurs  gardes  Suivant  Leurs  cou- 
tumes  pour  veille  qu'il  ne  Sortis  et  rentra  personne  qui 
piit  Leurs  estre  un  obstacle,  cependant  il  y  avait  toujours 
quelqu'un  qui  alloient  Et  venoient,  ceux  La  etoient  con- 
sidere  parmis  Les  Sauvages  et  ils  ne  se  mefiaient  pas  deux. 

Dans  L'apres  midy  Ses  Mrs.  furent  avertis  par  un  domi- 
cilie  de  la  Compagne  que  Les  Sauvages  avoient  dessein  de 
monter  a  Lassaut  dans  la  nuit  a  la  faveur  du  mauvais 
terns,  Ses  Mrs.  qui  depuis  cette  evenement  etoient  com- 
mence etoient  devenus  aufaite  de  la  manoeuvre  des 
Sauvages  firent  reponce  qu'ils  Les  attendoient  Se  d'autant 
que  cette  pretendue  entreprise  se  termineroient  comme  Les 
autres,  mais  comme  La  mefiance  Est  La  Mere  de  Surete  ils 
Se  tinrent  Sur  Leurs  garde  toute  la  nuit  avec  toute  Leurs 
troupe  pour  n'estre  point  Surpris  et  La  passerent  aussi  tran- 
quillement  que  Sils  fusent  couche  dans  Leurs  Lits,  et  au 
Soleil  couchant  vers  le  village  des  hurons  il  f  ut  entendii  trois 
cris  de  mort  Sans  que  L'on  put  Sgavoir  ce  que  Se  pouvait 
estre. 

9e  Juin. — Le  Jeudi  9e  Juin. — Jour  de  la  petite  feste  de 
Dieu  Les  Sauvages  qui  ne  tiroient  que  par  fougue  furent 
assez  tranquille  toute  la  journee,  vers  les  trois  heures  apres 
midy  L'on  entendis  faire  de  I'autre  Bord  de  la  riviere  par 
des  Sauvages  treize  cris  de  mort  qui  Exciterent  La  curiosite 
de  beaucoup  de  personne  anglois  et  frangais  qui  monterent 
Sur  Les  pieux  du  fort  pour  decouvir  ce  que  pouvoit  Estre, 
L'on  appergu  une  grande  quantite  de  Sauvages  qui  etoient 
a  cheval  et  a  pied  qui  couraient  fesant  des  cris  de  joye  et 
repetant  Les  cris  de  mort  en  tirant  Sur  La  grose  Barque 
qui  etait  mouille  devant  Le  fort.  L'on  vit  aussi  d'autre 
Sauvage  qui  venoient  par  eaux  Le  Long  de  terre  avec  trois 
Berge  et  des  prisonniers  qu'ils  avoient  pris  Sur  Le  Lac, 
ces  Sauvages  etoient  de  ceux  qui  avoient  ete  pour  Ecumer 
Le  Lac,  en  passant  devant  La  Barque  elle  Leurs  envoya 


160  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

at  them  five  cannon  shots  of  grape  and  ball  which  wounded 
some  without  hindering  them  from  continuing  their  course. 

Around  evening  of  the  same  day  it  was  learned  through 
a  Frenchman  that  the  remainder  of  the  band  of  Sekahos, 
chief  of  the  Chippewas  of  the  Thames  River,  had  arrived 
during  the  preceding  night,  and  that  they  numbered  forty- 
five  men.  With  the  coming  of  this  last  band  the  savages 
numbered  eight  hundred  fifty,  all  actually  in  camp  or 
around  the  lake,  and  all  of  different  nations  and  under 
different  chiefs;  there  were  two  hundred  fifty  Ottawas 
under  Pontiac;  one  hundred  fifty  Pottawattamies  under 
Ninivois;  fifty  Hurons  governed  by  Takay;  two  hundred 
fifty  Chippewas  under  Wasson;  one  hundred  seventy  of 
the  Chippewas  under  Sekahos;  all  of  whom  were  under 
the  authority  of  Pontiac,  their  over-chief.  They  would 
all  have  been  good  dogs  if  they  had  wanted  to  bite. 

June  10.     Friday. 

The  Indians  who  had  remained  in  the  camp  the  day  pre- 
cfeding  received  news  from  the  Hurons,  who  arrived  from 
hunting  in  the  woods  back  of  little  Lake  Sandusky,  that 
the  officer''^'*  who  had  escaped  with  his  thirty-five  men  was 
among  the  Sandusky  islands.  Pontiac  said  they  must  be 
caught  so  they  should  not  carry  the  news  to  Niagara,  and 
he  detached  fifty  men  from  those  of  his  camp;  they  passed 
in  the  rear  of  the  Fort  to  go  and  notify  the  three  hundred 
who  had  set  out  on  the  first  of  June  to  scour  the  lake,  and 
were  to  join  themselves  to  them  to  capture  the  officer. 
Fortunately,  before  the  last  forty  joined  the  others  the 
officer  had  left  the  islands  with  his  two  barges  and  taken 
route  for  Niagara  along  the  south  of  the  lake. 

The  Pottawattamies  of  St.  Joseph,  who  had  attacked 
the  English  and  had  taken  possession  of  the  forf^^  there 
by  killing  part  of  the  garrison  and  making  prisoners  of 
the  others,   had  left  the   fort  in  charge   of   the   French'^* 

'<Lieut.  Cuyler,  who  had  arrived  at  PreSqu'ile  on  Tune  3rd.  See  Mich.  Pion.  and 
Hist.   Colls.,   Vol.  XIX,  p.   i88. 

'^Fort  St.  Joseph  was  taken  by  Washee,  chief  of  the  Pottawattamies,  on  May 
25th.  Ensign  Francis  Schlosser  was  in  command  at  the  time  and  was  brought 
to  Detroit,  a  prisoner.  Ten  of  the  garrison  were  killed  and  three  made  prisoners. 
It  was  Schlosser  whom  the  Indians  offered  in  exchange  for  the  two  Indian  cap- 
tives, held   by  the   English.     Gladwin  MMS. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        161 

cinq  coups  de  canon  a  boulet  et  a  raisin  qui  en  blessa 
quelqu'un  Sans  Leurs  empesche  de  Continuer  Leurs  route, 
Sur  Le  Soir  du  mesme  Jour  L'on  Sgu  par  un  frangais 
que  le  reste  de  la  Bande  de  Sekahos,  chef  des  Sauteux  de 
la  riviere  a  la  tranche  etait  arrive  dans  La  nuit  precedente 
et  composoient  quarante  Cinq  hommes,  Cette  derniere 
Bande  arrive  L'on  fesait  nombre  de  huit  cent  cinquante 
Sauvages,  tant  actuellement  dans  Les  camps  que  Sur  Le 
Lac,  tout  de  differentes  nations  et  gouverne  par  differens 
chefs,  qui  etait  deux  cent  cinquante  Outaouis  gouverne  par 
pondiak,  cent  cinquante  poux  gouverne  par  innivois,  Cinq- 
uante hurons  par  tace,  deux  cent  cinquante  Sauteux  par 
Ouasson  et  cent  Soixante  et  dix  autres  Sauteux  par  Sekahos 
et  qui  tons  etoient  Sous  I'autorite  de  pondiak  Leurs  grand 
chefs,  qui  tons  auroient  ete  bon  chiens  S'ils  avoient  voullue 
mordre. 

lOe  Juin. — Le  vendredi,  lOe  de  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
etoient  reste  au  Camp  eurent  nouvelle  Le  jour  precedent 
par  des  hurons  qui  venaient  de  la  chase  dans  le  bois  der- 
riere  Le  petit  Lac  Sandosque  que  L'officier  qui  S'etait 
Sauve  avec  Ses  trente  cinq  hommes  etoient  dans  Les  illes 
de  Sandosque,  pondiak  dit  qu'il  falait  Les  avoir  pour  qu'ils 
ne  portassent  point  La  nouvelle  a  Niagara  et  il  detacha 
cinquante  hommes  de  son  Camp  qui  passerent  par  derriere 
Le  fort  pour  aller  avertir  les  trois  cents  qui  etaient  partis 
le  premier  du  present  mois  pour  Ecumer  sur  le  Lac  et  se 
joindre  a  eux  pour  Le  prendre,  mais  heureusement  aupara- 
vant  que  ces  dernier  s  partis  fussent  re  joint  Les  autres, 
cette  officier  etait  sortis  des  illes  avec  Ses  deux  Barques 
et  avait  gagne  route  pour  Niagara  par  le  Sud  du  Lac. 

Les  paux  de  St.  Joseph  qui  avaient  frape  Sur  Mrs.  Les 
anglais  et  S'etoient  rendije  maistre  du  fort  et  apres  avoir 
deffait  une  partie  de  la  garnison  et  fait  d'autre  prisonnier 
Laisserent  Le  fort  aux  pouvoirs  des  frangais  Etablis  dans 

'^The  Indians  evidently  left  Louis  Chevalier  (Louison  Chevalie)  in  charge 
of  that  locality.  He  saved  the  lives  of  some  of  the  English  traders,  Richard 
Winston,  Hambacl:  and  Chin,  and  when  the  English  were  again  established  in 
the  country  he  was  given  supervision  over  that  part  of  the  land  although  Fort 
St.  Joseph  was  not  reestablished.  DePeyster  trusted  him,  but  Sinclair  had  him 
arrested  and  sent  to  Montreal  on  suspicion  of  being  in  correspondence  with 
the  Americans.  He  was  born  in  1720  and  disappears  from  the  records  in  1782. 
Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,   Vol.   i8,  p.  372. 


163  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

established  in  that  locality,  and  come  with  their  prisoners 
who  numbered  seven,  including  the  commander,  to  join 
the  Pottawattamies  of  Detroit.  They  reached  the  village 
the  preceding  night.  When  they  learned  that  the  English 
held  two  savages  of  their  nation  prisoner  in  the  Fort,  they 
came  about  four  o'clock  P.  M.  with  a  certain  Mr.  Gam- 
melin  to  the  foot  of  the  Fort  to  enter  into  negotiations 
with  the  Commandant  concerning  the  exchange  of  the 
officer  who  commanded  at  St.  Joseph  for  the  two  Indians 
in  the  Fort.  The  proposition  did  not  suit  the  Commandant 
who  wanted  the  Pottawattamies  to  surrender  all  their 
seven  prisoners  for  the  two  Indians.  The  latter  would  not 
consent  to  this  exchange  and  returned  as  they  had  come, 
deferring  until  the  following  day  the  conclusion  of  the 
exchange. 

June  11.     Saturday. 

There  still  remained  in  the  environs  (of  the  Fort)  one 
house  and  a  shop  which  the  fire  had  not  been  able  to  reach 
because  of  their  remoteness  somewhat  from  the  others,  and 
which  served  as  a  retreat  for  the  Indians.  An  officer  at 
the  head  of  twenty  men  made  a  sortie  to  burn  them  and 
clear  the  plain.  When  he  returned  from  this  excursion 
the  same  officer  had  his  men  empty  and  clean  out  the  boats 
and  barges,  which  were  beached  in  front  of  the  Fort,  and 
put  them  into  condition  for  service  in  case  the  sloop  which 
had  left  for  Niagara  did  not  return.  If  they  should  see 
themselves  compelled  by  shortness  of  provisions  to  abandon 
the  post,  these  boats  with  the  large  sloop  would  serve  for 
them  to  fall  back  upon  Niagara.  The  sayages  did  not  fire 
at  all  during  the  day. 

-»■  This  same  day  Mr,  Lasel,  Jr.,*^^  arrived  from  Montreal 
with  two  canoe-loads  of  merchandise  and  liquor  which 
he  unloaded  at  Widow  Gervaise's^^  to  keep  it  from  the 


"Jacques  Lacelle,  Jr.,  was  son  of  Jacques  and  Mary  Ann  Lalande,  of  Mon- 
treal. He  was  born  at  Montreal  jMay  1,  1735,  married  at  Lachine,  Feb.  IS,  1765, 
Theresa  Berthelet  dit  Savoyard.  He  settled  in  Detroit  in  1775  and  traded  with 
the  Miamis  near  Maumee  Bay  as  early  as  May  of  that  year.  He  was  father  of 
the  River  Raisin  Lacelles.  His  aunt,  Angelique  Lacelle,  married  Pierre  Des- 
comps  dit  Labadie,  of  Detroit.  The  fact  that  Labadie  was  very  friendly  with 
the  Indians  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  Indians  leaving  Lacelle  unmo- 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   D'uNE    CONSPIRATION        163 

cette  endroit  et  vinrent  avec  Leurs  prisonniers  au  nombre 
de  Sept  y  compris  Le  Commandant  rejoindre  Les  poux  du 
Detroit  et  arriverent  dans  La  nuit  precedente  au  village, 
ayant  sgtie  que  Mrs.  Les  anglais  avaient  deux  Sauvages  de 
leurs  nation  prisonnier  dans  le  fort  vinrent  sur  Les  quatre 
heures  apres  midy  avec  un  nomee  Mr.  gommelin  au  pied 
du  fort  pour  entrer  en  accommadement  avec  le  Comman- 
dant du  fort  et  faire  exchange  donnant  L'officier  qui  com- 
mandait  St.  Joseph  pour  les  deux  Sauvages  qui  etoient 
dans  le  fort:  cette  accommodement  ne  plu  pas  au  com- 
mandant qui  voullait  que  les  paux  rendissent  tous  les  Sept 
prisonniers  pour  Les  deux  Sauvages  qui  ne  voullurent  con- 
sentir  a  cette  echange  et  S'en  retournerent  comme  ils 
etaient  venus  remettant  au  Lendemain  a  conclure  Leurs 
exchange. 

lie  Juin. — Samedi  lie  Juin. — Comme  il  etait  encore 
reste  dans  le  faubourg  une  maison  et  une  boutique  que  le 
feu  n'avait  pu  atteindre  parce  que  elles  etaient  un  peu 
eloigne  des  autres  et  qui  servait  de  retraite  au  sauvages,  il 
sortis  un  officier  a  la  teste  de  vingt  hommes  pour  les  faire 
Brule  et  par  ce  moyen  rendre  la  plaine  libre,  au  retour  de 
cette  expedition  Le  mesme  officier  fit  par  son  monde  vide 
et  netoye  Les  bateaux  et  les  Berges  qui  etaient  echoue  devant 
le  fort  et  Les  mettre  en  etat  de  Servir  au  besoin  En  cas 
que  La  Barque  qui  etait  partie  pour  Niagara  ne  revint 
point  et  Se  voyant  force  faute  de  vivres  d'abandonner,  ses 
voitures  avec  La  grose  Barque  Leurs  auroirent  Servis  pour 
Se  plier  a  Niagara.  Les  Sauvages  ne  tirerent  point  de 
la  journee. 

Ce  mesme  jour,  Mr.  Lasel,  fils,  est  arrive  de  Montreal 
avec  deux  canotte  de  marchandise  et  de  la  boisson  qu'il 
debarqua  chez  Madame   La   veuve   Gervaise   pour  etre   a 


lested.  Labadie  was  accused  of  painting  and  dressing  his  two  sons  and  son-in- 
law  to  look  like  Indians.  Lacelle  was  buried  at  Detroit  Aug.  14,  1791.  Denis- 
sen's    Genealogies    MMS.,    Gladwin    MMS. 

''Louis  Gervais,  captain  of  militia,  had  a  farm  on  the  south  side  of  the  river. 
He  was  originally  from  Montreal  and  was  about  sixty  years  of  age  when  he 
died  Feb.  5,  1763.  Sir  William  Johnson  visited  him  when  he  made  his  trip  t3 
Detroit  in  1761,  but  calls  him  Jarvis  in  his  diary.  His  wife,  Madelaine  Langlois, 
died  Oct.   27,  1763,  aged  about  fifty-five  years.     St.  Anne's  Church  Records. 


164  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A    CONSPIRACY 

clutches  of  the  Indians,  but  he  was  "sold"  and  the  Potta- 
wattamies  came  and  demanded  some  of  it,  threatening  to 
plunder  him  if  he  did  not  share  with  them.  To  get  rid 
of  them  he  surrendered  two  barrels  of  wine. 

Pontiac  learned  of  this  arrival  almost  as  soon  as  the 
Pottawattamies ;  he  knew  that  they  had  taken  the  liquor, 
and  fearing  that  he  would  not  get  his  share  he  crossed  the 
river  with  his  chiefs,  visited  Lasel,  and  ordered  him  to 
move  his  liquor  up  to  the  house  of  Jacques  Campau,'^^  near 
his  camp.  The  goods  were  taken  unharmed  to  the  home 
of  Mr.  Labadie,  Lasel's  uncle. 

When  Mr.  Lasel  was  induced  to  change  his  quarters 
Pontiac  gave  him  to  understand  that  being  near  his  camp 
he  would  not  be  disturbed  because  he,  Pontiac,  would 
answer  for  his  people;  however,  to  have  peace,  he  handed 
over  five  barrels  and  the  savages  left  him  alone. 

The  Pottawattamies  who  had  come  the  day  before  to 
effect  an  exchange  of  prisoners  came  back  this  day  at 
four  o'clock,  but  returned  no  better  off  than  they  had  come, 
reaching  no  more  of  a  settlement  this  second  time  than 
the  first. 

June  12.     Sunday. 

The  day  passed  very  quietly  at  the  Fort  without  any 
action  on  either  side.  Toward  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning 
Mr.  Cavallier^^  reached  the  house  of  Widow  Gervaise  with 
canoes  loaded  with  wine  and  goods  for  the  place,  and  from 
him  it  was  learned  that  there  was  an  abundance  of  all  sorts 
of  merchandise  and  provisions  in  Montreal  at  a  low  price. 
Around  three  o'clock  P.  M.  the  guards  of  the  sloop  brought 
to  shore  the  dead  bodies  of  several  whom  the  Indians 
had  massacred  the  day  before;  they  were  buried  on  the 
strand  opposite  the  Fort. 

June  13.     Monday. 

Rainy  weather  all  day  kept  both  sides  from  firing. 

"Jacques  Campau  was  an  officer  of  the  militia  and  lived  on  his  farm  on 
the  coast  northeast  of  the  fort,  trading  in  the  village.  He  was  a  son  of  Louia 
Campau  and  married  Catharine  Menard. 

*" Jacques   Cavelier    (Cavallier)    was  one   of   the  victims   of   the   siege.      He   was 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        165 

couvert  de  recherche  Sauvage,  mais  il  fut  vendu  et  Les 
paux  fut  Lui  endemande  Le  menagant  de  le  pille  S'ils  ne 
leurs  en  donnaient  pas,  pour  se  debarrasse  deux  il  leurs  en 
abbandonna  deux  barils  de  vin,  pondiak,  qui  Sgue  cette 
arrivee  presque  aussitost  que  Les  paux  et  qui  avait  Sgu 
que  Les  paux  prenoient  de  la  boisson,  craignant  n'en  point 
avoir  Sa  part,  traversa  avec  Ses  chefs  et  fut  trouve  La  Sel 
et  le  fit  monter  avec  Ses  boissons  chez  Mr.  Jacques  Campau 
aupres  du  camp  et  Les  merchandises  furent  menes  sans 
aucun  tord  chez  Mr.  Labadie,  oncle  du  Sieur  La  Sel. 

Pondiak  en  fesant  change  de  place  au  Sieur  La  Sel,  lui 
avait  fait  entendre  que  etant  proche  de  son  camp  il  ne 
serait  point  inquiete  par  ce  qu'il  repond  de  la  part  de  ses 
gens,  cependant  pour  avoir  La  tranquillite  il  Luy  en  couta 
cinq  barrils  et  Les  Sauvages  Le  laisserent  en  repos. 

Les  paux  qui  etoient  veniis  Le  jour  precedent  pour  faire 
echange  des  prisonniers  revinrent  ce  jour  a  quatre  heures, 
et  s"en  retournerent  comme  ils  etaient  venus  n'ayant  pas 
plus  conclus  cette  seconde  fois  que  La  premiere. 

12e  Juin. — Le  dimanche  12e  Juin. — La  journee  Se  passa 
bien  tranquille  au  fort  et  Sans  aucune  action  de  part  ny 
d'autre.  Sur  les  dix  heures  du  matin  Mr.  Cavallier,  arriva 
chez  la  veuve  Gervais  avec  canots  charge  de  vin  et  de 
merchandise  pour  L'endroit,  de  Lui  L'on  Sgu  que  Labon- 
dance  regnait  a  Montreal  de  tous  merchandises  et  vivre  a 
grand  marche.  Sur  les  trois  heures  de  I'apres  midy  Les 
gardiens  de  dedans  La  barque  anmenerent  a  tere  plusieurs 
corp  mort,  de  ceux  que  Les  Sauvages  avaient  masacre 
Le  jour  precedent.  Ces  corps  furent  enterer  Sur  le  bord 
de  la  greve  vis  a  vis  du  fort. 

13e  Juin. — Le  Lundy  13e  Juin. — Le  terns  pluvieux  toute 
la  journee  fit  que  L'on  ne  tira  point  ni  de  part  ny  d'autre. 


killed,  and  buried  by  the  priest  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Anne's  Church,  July  14, 
1763.  He  was  the  son  of  Jacques,  a  master  armorer,  living  in  Montreal,  and 
■was  about  thirty  years  old.  The  Indians  threatened  both  Lacelle  and  Cavalier 
if  they   went   within   a   certain  distance   of  the    fort. 


166  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

June  14,     Tuesday. 

The  day  was  like  the  preceding  up  to  four  in  the  after- 
noon when  the  Indians  fired  a  few  shots  which  did  not 
receive  the  least  attention  from  the  English.  During  the 
day  the  Indians  visited  Mr.  Cavallier  to  get  some  liquor. 
He  refused,  whereupon  the  savages  became  enraged  and 
plundered  his  whole  stock  of  liquor,  merchandise,  and  even 
the  provisions  he  had  brought  for  his  return  trip  because  he 
knew  very  well  provisions  would  cost  more  here  than  in 
Montreal. 

June  15.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  who  as  a  usual  thing  are  not  very  fore- 
handed unless  compelled  by  circumstances,  had  run  out  of 
provisions  which  they  had  captured  with  the  barges  of 
the  convoy,  and  they  had  to  depend  upon  the  French  set- 
tlers to  live  until  they  could  take  others.  In  addition  to 
what  was  given  them  they  also  killed  the  stock  of  the  set- 
tlers. 

Along  toward  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  the  Potta- 
wattamies  came  for  the  third  time  to  make  an  exchange 
of  prisoners  and  give  the  commandant  of  St.  Joseph  and 
two  soldiers  for  one  of  the  Indian  prisoners  held  by  the 
English.  They  were  disappointed  in  their  exchange  be- 
cause they  demanded  the  Indian  named  Big  Ears  who  was 
greatly  esteemed  among  them,  and  received  one  by  the 
name  of  No-Kaming  whom  they  regarded  as  a  rogue. 
But  the  disappointment  was  due  to  No-Kaming  himself 
who  had  the  Commandant  informed  not  to  give  the 
Pottawattamies  the  one  of  the  two  they  asked  for,  but 
to  give  them  himself  instead,  because  the  Pottawattamies 
had  no  regard  for  him;  and  since  the  other  was  a  man  of 
prominence  in  the  nation,  if  he  was  kept,  the  Pottawattam- 
ies who  wanted  him  would  raise  their  offer  and  give  all 
the  prisoners.  The  advice,  although  coming  from  a  savage, 
was  accepted  as  good  and  he  was  given  in  exchange,  and 
Big  Ears  was  kept  so  as  to  obtain  with  him  the  other 
prisoners.     But  the  Pottawattamies  were  hardly  satisfied 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        167 

14e  Juin. — Le  Mardy  14e  Juin. — La  journee  se  sends  de 
la  precedente  j  usque  Sur  Les  quatre  heures  apres  midy 
que  Les  Sauvages  tirerent  quelque  coup  qui  ne  meriterent 
pas  La  moindre  attention  de  Ses  Mrs.  Ce  jour  Les  Sau- 
vages  furent  trouve.  Mr.  Cavallier  pour  avoir  de  la  boisson, 
il  Leurs  en  refusa.  Les  Sauvages  enrage  contre  Luy,  lui 
pillerent  tous  ses  boissons,  marchandises  jusqu'a  Ses  vivres 
qu'il  avait  apporte  pour  s'en  retourner  Se  doutant  bien  qu'il 
acheterais  ici  Les  vivres  plus  cher  qu'a  Montreal. 

15e  Juin. — Le  mercredy  15e  de  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
de  Leurs  ordinaire  quand  Les  choses  ne  previennent  pas 
de  leurs  cru,  ne  sont  pas  Beaucoup  Economes,  Et  n'ayant 
plus  de  vivres  de  celles  qu'ils  avaient  prises  dans  les  Berges 
du  convois  qu'ils  avaient  defaits  ils  furent  oblige  d'avoir 
recours  aux  habitans  pour  Subsister  jusqu'a  ce  qu'ils  pus- 
sent  en  prendre  d'autre,  ils  tuerent  aussi  independemment 
de  ce  que  L'on  Leurs  donnerent  Les  animaux  des  habitans. 

Sur  Les  dix  heures  du  matin  Les  paux  pour  La  troisieme 
fois  vinrent  pour  faire  echange  des  prisonniers  et  donner 
le  Commandant  de  St.  Joseph  avec  deux  soldats  pour  un 
des  prisonniers  Sauvage  que  Ses  Mrs.  avaient  et  ils  furent 
trompe  dans  Leurs  echange  par  ce  qu'ils  demandaient  Celuy 
qui  se  nommait  Les  grandes  Oreilles  qui  etait  Beaucoup 
considere  parmis  eux  et  ils  eurent  a  sa  place  un  nomme 
Nokaming  qu'ils  regardaient  parmis  eux  comme  un  coquin, 
mais  cette  tromperie  vint  de  la  part  de  ce  Nokaming  qui 
firent  dire  au  Commandant  de  ne  pas  donner  aux  paux 
celuy  des  deux  qu'ils  demandaient  mais  de  le  donner  Luy 
mesme  a  Sa  place  par  ce  que  Les  paux  ne  Le  regardait 
guere,  mais  comme  1 'autre  etait  considere  dans  la  nation  et 
que  s'il  le  gardait  Les  paux  qui  avaient  envie  de  L'avoir 
donneraient  en  rehaussant  tous  Les  prisonniers,  Cette  avis 
quoique  venant  de  la  part  d'un  Sauvage  fut  goute  et  trouve 
bonne  et  il  fut  donne  en  echange  et  les  grandes  Oreilles  fut 
garde  par  son  moyen  pour  avoir  d'autre  prisonniers,  mais 


168  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

with  their  negotiations,  finding  themselves  frustrated  in 
their  hopes. 

June  16.     Thursday. 

The  Indians  were  very  quiet  the  whole  day.  Since  it  is 
a  practice  in  all  places  besieged  or  blockaded  by  an  enemy 
that  silence  be  observed,  and  there  be  no  ringing  of  church 
bells  for  any  necessity  whatever  so  that  the  enemy  may 
not  know  the  hours  when  the  public  frequent  church,  for 
that  reason  the  bell  of  the  parish  church  of  this  place  had 
not  sounded  for  any  service  since  the  commencement  of 
the  siege.  When  the  Commandant  learned  from  the  curate 
the  reason  of  this  he  gave  permission  to  ring  the  bells  for 
all  the  needs  of  the  church,  and  it  began  its  function  at 
noon  by  sounding  the  Angelus. 

About  three  o'clock  P.  M.  the  chiefs  of  the  good  Huron 
band,  who  had  not  taken  any  part  in  hostilities  since  Father 
Poitier  in  order  to  restrain  them  had  refused  them  the 
sacrament,  came  for  a  parley.  They  entered  the  Fort  by  a 
false  gate  and  discussed  terms  of  peace  with  the  Com- 
mandant, making  many  excuses  for  what  they  had  done. 
The  Commandant  listened  to  them  and  gave  them  a  flag 
which  they  accepted  in  sign  of  union,  and  they  departed 
without  any  other  conclusion  than  the  flag. 

June  17.     Friday. 

The  day  passed  without  any  movement  on  the  part  of 
the  Indians.  Notwithstanding  they  had  decided  in  council 
on  the  seventeenth  of  the  previous  month  not  to  allow  any- 
one from  the  outside  to  enter  the  Fort,  still  there  were  some 
favored  ones  who  had  liberty  to  come  and  go  in  order  to 
watch  over  their  affairs  on  both  sides  of  the  river  as  neces- 
sity demanded.  It  was  through  one  of  these  that  the  Com- 
mandant learned  that  the  sloop  was  in  the  lake  off  the 
entrance  to  the  river,  and  had  been  seen  by  a  man  named 
Pipus,  an  Indian  slave,  who  had  been  hunting  in  that  quar- 
ter. When  the  sloop  departed  the  Commandant  had  told 
the  one  in  command  that  as  soon  as  he  should  learn  of  his 
return  to  the  river  he  would  have  a  cannon  fired  in  order 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        169 

les  paux  n'etaient  guere  contens  de  leurs  negoce  se  voyant 
fruste  dans  Leurs  esperance. 

16e  Juin. — Le  Jeudy  16e  de  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  furent 
fort  tranquille  toute  La  journee  comme  C'est  L'ordinaire 
que  toutes  les  places  assiege  ou  Bloque  par  L'ennemi  Le 
Silence  y  Soit  observe  et  que  les  cloches  des  eglises  ne 
Sonne  point  pour  au'cune  necessite  afin  que  l'ennemi  ne 
Sgacha  les  heures  que  le  public  vont  a  I'eglise,  or  La  cloche 
de  L'eglise  paroissiale  de  cette  endroit  n'avait  pas  sonne 
depuis  le  Commencement  des  Bloques  pour  aucune  exer- 
cise de  piete,  Le  commandant  S'etant  fait  informe  par  le 
Cure,  pourquoy  la  cloche  ne  sonnait  plus,  permis  de  la 
sonner  pour  tous  Les  Besoins  de  l'eglise  et  elle  commenga 
Sa  fonction  a  midy  en  sonnant  L'Angelus. 

Sur  Les  trois  heures  Les  chefs  de  la  bonne  bande  des 
hurons  qui,  depuis  que  pere  poitier  pour  Les  arreste  Leurs 
avoient  refuse  Les  Sacrements,  ils  n'avoient  plus  frapes, 
vinrent  cette  journee  Sur  les  trois  heures  apres  midy  pour 
parle  ils  entrerent  dans  le  fort  par  une  fausse  porta  et 
traiterent  de  paix  avec  Le  Commandant  fesant  Bien  des 
excuses  touchant  ce  qu'ils  avaient  fait.  Le  Commandant 
Les  ecouta  et  Leur  donna  un  pavilion  qu'ils  accepterent 
en  signe  d'union  et  S'en  retournerent  Sans  autre  conclusion 
que  Le  pavilion. 

17e  Juin. — Le  vendredy  17e  Juin. — Se  passa  Sans  au- 
cun  mouvernent  de  la  part  des  Sauvages,  quoyque  ils 
eussent  dans  Le  conseil  qu'ils  avaient  teniis,  le  dix  sept  du 
mois  precedent,  decide  de  ne  Laisse  passe  personne  de 
dehors  pour  entre  dans  Le  fort,  cependant  il  y  eus  quelque 
favorise  qui  avoient  La  liberte  d'aller  et  de  venir  pour 
vaquer  a  leurs  affaires  aux  deux  cotes  du  fort,  Suivant  que 
Le  Besoin  Les  appeloient.  Ce  fut  par  le  moyen  d'un  de 
ceux  la  que  Mr.  Le  Commandant  Sgu  que  La  Barque  etait 
dans  Le  Lac  a  I'entre  de  la  riviere  Et  qu'elle  avait  ete  vue 
par  un  nomme  repus,  un  panis  qui  avait  ete  a  la  chasse  de 
ce  coste  la  Mr.  Le  Commandant  qui  en  partant  avait  pre- 
venia  celui  qui  La  commandait  que  aussitot  qu'il  Saurait 
Son  retour  dans  La  riviere  il  Luy  ferait  tire  quelque  coup 


170  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

to  tell  him  by  this  signal  that  he  and  his  troops  were  still 
in  the  Fort.  The  Commandant  did  this  at  the  first  news; 
he  ordered  two  cannon  shots  fired  at  sunset  to  notify  the 
sloop  that  she  could  come  up  and  that  he,  the  Commandant, 
was  still  master  of  the  Fort  and  neighborhood. 

June  18.     Saturday. 

An  inhabitant  of  the  east  coast  opposite  the  Fort  crossed 
the  river  about  two  in  the  morning  to  bring  the  Com- 
mandant certain  news  about  the  sloop.  This  led  him  to 
order  the  cannon  by  the  southeast  gate  to  fire  twice  at  dif- 
ferent intervals  as  a  signal ;  the  order  was  executed  at  five 
A.  M. 

At  noon  of  the  same  day  Father  Dujonois^^  the  Jesuit 
missionary  of  the  Ottawas  from  Michillimackinac,  arrived 
with  seven  Indians  of  this  nation,  and  eight  Chippewas  of 
the  same  place  in  command  of  one  Kinonchamek^-,  son  of 
the  great  chief  of  the  nation.  People  learned  through  these 
of  the  defeat  of  the  English  at  this  post  on  the  second  of 
the  month  by  the  Chippewas.  The  Jesuit  father  was  lodged 
with  his  confrere,  the  missionary  to  the  Hurons. 

June  19.     Sunday. 

The  Fort  was  not  molested;  the  arrival  of  the  son  of 
the  great  chief  the  day  before  caused  a  suspension  of  hos- 
tilities between  the  savages  and  the  Fort.  He  located  his 
camp  in  a  meadow  two  miles  and  a  half  above  the  Fort,  a 
mile  and  a  quarter  above  Pontiac's  camp.  The  Indians  in 
camp  went  up  to  see  him  land  and  welcome  him  in  the 
name  of  their  chief;  they  were  received  pretty  coldly  and 
told  that  in  the  afternoon  he  and  his  followers  would  come 
to  see  Pontiac  and  hold  a  council.  At  this  news  Pontiac 
ordered  all  the  Indians  of  each  nation  to  remain  in  their 
lodges  all  day  to  hear  the  words  of  the  great  chief  of  the 
Chippewas  by  the  mouth  of  his  son. 


^^Du  Jaiinay  had  arrived  with  a  letter  from  Capt.  Etherington  giving  an 
account  of  the  capture  of  Mackinac  and  asking  for  assistance.  Finding  this  post 
in  a  state  of  siege,  he  returned  to  Mackinac,  where,  with  the  aid  of  Charles 
Langlade,  he  procured  the  ransom  of  many  officers  and  traders.  Alexander  Henry 
was  one  of  the  traders  who  escaped  unharmed.  Father  Dti  Jaunay  went  to 
Mackinac  in  1736  from  his  station  at  Ouiatanon,  among  the  Miamis.  In  1744 
he  was  transferred  to  the  Ottawa  Mission  at  1,'Arbre  Creche  and  Mackinac,  and 
remained  there   until   1765. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        171 

de  Canon  afin  qu'il  put  connaitre  par  ce  Signal  que  Le 
Commandant  et  tout  son  monde  etoient  dans  le  fort,  ce 
que  Mr.  Le  Commandant  fit  a  cette  premiere  nouvelle,  il 
ordonna  qu'il  fut  tire  deux  coups  de  canon  au  Soleil 
couchant  pour  avertir  La  barque  qu'elle  pouvait  venir  que 
Le  Commandant  etait  tou jours  maistre  du  fort  et  ses 
environs. 

ISe  Juin. — Le  Samedy  18e  Juin. — Un  domicilii  de  la 
Coste  de  Test  vis-a-vis  du  fort,  traversa  La  riviere  Sur 
Les  deux  heures  du  matin  pour  venir  dire  a  Mr.  Le  Com- 
mandant des  nouvelles  certaines  de  la  Barque,  ce  que  Mr. 
Le  Commandant  ordonna  que  Le  Canon  qui  etait  poste 
contre  La  porte  du  coste  du  Sorouest  tirerais  deux  coups 
a  tems  different  pour  Signal,  ce  qui  fut  execute  Sur  les 
cinq  heures  du  matin. 

Ce  mesme  jour  a  midi,  Le  pere  dujonois,  Jesuite  mis- 
sionnaire  des  Outaouis  de  Michelimakinak  arriva  avec  sept 
Sauvages  de  cette  nation  et  huit  Sauteux  du  meme  endroit, 
commande  par  un  nomme  Kinonchamek  fils  du  grand  chef 
de  cette  nation,  par  eux  L'on  Squ  La  defaite  de  Mrs.  Les 
anglais  dans  ce  poste  par  Les  Sauteux  Le  deux  de  ce  mois. 

Le  Pere  Jesuite  fut  loge  avec  Son  Confrere  Le  missio- 
naire  des  hurons. 

19e  Juin. — Le  dimanche  19e  Juin. — Le  fort  ne  fut  pas 
inquiete  L'arrivee  du  fils  du  grand  chef,  le  jour  precedent 
causa  une  suspension  d'arme  entre  Le  fort  et  les  Sauvages 
il  avait  place  son  camp  a  un  demilieu  audessus  de  celui  de 
pondiak  dans  une  praierie  a  une  lieu  audessus  du  fort, 
Les  Sauvages  d'ici  furent  Le  voir  au  debarquement  pour 
Luy  donner  Le  Bon  Jour  de  la  part  de  leurs  chef,  ils  furent 
reque  assez  froidement  et  eurent  pour  reponce  que  aujour- 
dhuy  apres  midy  il  irait  Luy  et  ses  gens  voir  pondiak  pour 
tenir  Conseil,  a  cette  nouvelle  pondiak  ordonna  que  tous 
les  Sauvages  de  chaque  nation  se  tinsent  sur  Leurs  nattes 
toute  la  journee  pour  ecoute  Les  paroles  du  grand  chef 

'-Kinonchamek  had  a  granddaughter  Marie,  daughter  of  Nesxesouexite,  who 
was  baptized  on  May  9th,  1756,  at  Michilimackinac  and  married  Claude  Pelle 
de  la  Have,  a  voyageur,  at  that  place  May  10,  1756. 


172  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

While  they  were  getting  ready  for  the  council  there 
arrived  at  the  Huron  village  toward  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning  two  canoes  of  Shawanoes  and  Delawares  from 
the  Ohio  River  who  came  to  see  what  was  going  on.  Upon 
their  arrival  they  learned  of  the  coming  of  Kinonchamek 
and  of  the  location  of  his  camp;  they  did  not  disembark, 
but  went  straight  to  his  camp  to  hold  a  council  concerning 
what  was  taking  place  here.  Two  or  three  Frenchmen 
were  called  to  give  information  about  matters  since  the 
beginning  of  the  siege  by  the  Indians,  and  concerning  all 
that  had  been  done  by  Pontiac's  orders,  after  which  they 
were  sent  home. 

Around  two  o'clock  P.  M.  Kinonchamek,  followed  by  his 
men  and  the  Shawanoes  and  Delawares,  came  to  Pontiac's 
camp  to  hold  a  council  as  he  had  had  announced  the  night 
before.  Upon  his  arrival  all  the  chiefs  assembled  and 
grouped  themselves  in  silence,  after  their  custom,  in  a  sort 
of  circle.  When  each  Indian  had  taken  his  place,  Kinon- 
chamek arose  and  spoke  in  the  name  of  his  father,  address- 
ing himself  to  Pontiac: 

"We  have  learned  at  home,  my  brothers,  that  you  are 
waging  war  very  differently  from  us.  Like  you,  we  have 
undertaken  to  chase  the  English  out  of  our  territory  and 
we  have  succeeded.  And  we  did  it  without  glutting  our- 
selves with  their  blood  after  we  had  taken  them,  as  you 
have  done;  we  surprised  them  while  playing  a  game  of 
lacrosse  at  a  time  when  they  were  unsuspecting.  Our 
brothers,  the  French,  knew  nothing  of  our  plan.  The 
English  found  out  that  they  were  the  ones  we  had  a  grudge 
against;  they  surrendered.  We  made  prisoners  of  them 
and  sent  them  unharmed  to  their  Father  in  Montreal.  The 
soldiers  tried  to  defend  their  leaders;  we  killed  them,  but 
it  was  done  in  battle.  We  did  not  do  any  harm  to  the 
French,  as  you  are  doing;  on  the  contrary^^,  we  made  them 
guardians  and  custodians  of  our  captives." 

^^When  the  Indians  took  the  fort  on  June  2nd,  Charles  Langlade  was  left 
in  command  of  the  fort  by  Capt.  Etherington,  who  was  made  prisoner.  Lang- 
lade, who  was  born  at  Mackinac  in  1729,  lived  there,  trading  with  the  Indians, 
and  served  as  a  lieutenant  of  troops  under  the  French  regime.  He  was  liked 
by   the   Indians. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        173 

de  sauteux  par  la  bouche  de  son  fils,  pendant  Le  temps 
que  Les  Sauvages  se  preparait  pour  Le  Conseil  il  arriva 
Sur  Les  dix  heures  du  matin  au  village  des  hurons,  deux 
canots  de  Sauvages  des  Chavoinons  et  des  Loups  de  la 
Belle  riviere  qui  venaient  icy  pour  voir  ce  qui  S'y  passait 
a  Leurs  arrive  ils  Sgurent  celle  de  Kinonchamek  et  Le  Lieu 
de  son  camp,  ils  ne  debarquerent  point  et  furent  droit  a 
Son  camp  pour  y  tenir  Conseil  sur  ce  qui  se  passait  icy, 
deux  ou  trois  frangais  furent  appele  pour  Sgavoir  deux 
tout  ce  qui  S'etait  passe  depuis  le  commencement  de  I'at- 
taque  du  fort  par  les  Sauvages  et  toutes  les  demarches 
faites  par  Les  ordres  de  pondiak,  apres  quoy  ils  furent 
renvoyes  chez  eux.  Sur  les  deux  heures  apres  midi,  Ki- 
nonchamek Suivis  des  Siens  et  des  Chavoinons  et  des  Loups 
vinrent  au  camp  de  pondiak  pour  tenir  conseil  comme  il 
L'avait  fait  dire  La  veille,  a  son  arrivee  au  camp,  tous  Les 
chefs  S'assemblans  et  forment  Suivant  Leurs  coutume  un 
Espece  de  cercle  en  silence,  Lors  que  chaque  Sauvages  eiit 
pris  sa  place,  Kimonchamek  Se  leva  et  prenant  La  parolle 
au  nom  de  son  pere  et  S'adressant  a  pondiak,  nous  avons 
appris,  chez  nous,  mes  freres  que  vous  faites  La  guerre 
tout  autrement  que  nous,  nons  avons  comme  vous,  entrepris 
de  chasser  Les  anglais  de  dessus  nos  terres,  Et  nous  y 
avons  reussis,  mais  ca  ete  Sans  nous  rassasier  de  leur  Sangs, 
apres  Les  avoir  pris  comme  vous  faites  tous,  nous  Les 
avons  Surpris  en  jouant  a  la  Crosse  dans  un  tems  qu'ils 
ne  S'y  attendaient  pas,  nos  freres  Les  frangois  ne  Sga- 
voient  pas  notre  dessein,  Les  anglais  s'appergurent  que 
c'etait  a  eux  que  nous  en  voullions,  ils  se  rendirent  Et  nous 
les  avons  faits  prisonniers  et  nous  Les  avons  renvoye  a 
leur  pere  a  Montreal  sans  leur  faire  aucun  mal,  Les  Soldats 
ont  voullii  deffendre  Les  chefs,  nous  les  avons  tue,  mais  ga 
dans  Taction,  mais  nous  n'avons  point  fait  du  tors  au 
frangois  comme  vous  faites.  Bien  au  contraire  nous  Les 
avons  faits  gardien  et  depositaire  de  nos  prises,  mais  pour 


174     JOURNAL  OR  NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

(More  directly  to  Pontiac)  : 

"But  as  for  thee,  thou  hast  taken  prisoners  upon  the 
lake,  and  the  river,  and  after  having  brought  them  to  thy 
camp  thou  hast  killed  them,  and  drunk  their  blood,  and 
eaten  their  flesh.  Is  the  flesh  of  men  good  for  food?  One 
eats  only  the  flesh  of  deer  and  other  animals  which  the 
Master  of  Life  has  placed  on  the  earth.  Moreover,  in  mak- 
ing war  upon  the  English  thou  hast  made  war  upon  the 
French  by  killing  their  stock  and  devouring  their  pro- 
visions, and  if  they  refuse  thee  anything  thou  hast  had  thy 
followers  pillage  them.  We  have  not  done  so;  we  did  not 
rely  upon  provisions  from  the  French  to  make  war;  we 
took  care  when  planning  to  attack  the  English  to  lay  in 
provisions  for  ourselves,  our  wives,  and  our  children.  If 
thou  hadst  done  likewise,  thou  wouldst  not  be  in  danger 
of  incurring  the  reproaches  of  our  Great  Father  when  he 
shall  come.  Thou  awaitest  him,  and  we  too,  but  he  will 
be  satisfied  with  us  and  not  with  thee." 

Pontiac  in  the  face  of  this  speech  was  like  a  child  sur- 
prised in  some  fault  v^'ith  no  excuse  to  give,  and  he  did 
not  know  what  to  say.  As  soon  as  Kinonchamek  had  fin- 
ished speaking,  the  chief  of  the  Eries  spoke  for  his  band 
and  for  the  Delawares: 

"My  brothers,  we  have  also  fallen  upon  the  English 
because  the  Master  of  Life  by  one  of  our  brother  Dela- 
wares told  us  to  do  so,  but  he  forbade  us  to  attack  our 
brothers,  the  French,  and  thou  hast  done  so.  Is  this  what 
we  had  told  thee  by  means  of  the  wampum  belts  which  we 
have  sent  thee?  Ask  our  brothers,  the  Delawares,  what 
the  Master  of  Life  had  told  to  them:  it  is  all  right  to  kill 
during  battle,  but  afterwards,  and  when  one  has  taken 
prisoners,  it  is  no  longer  of  any  value;  nor  is  it  to  drink 
the  blood  or  eat  the  flesh  of  men.  Since  thou  art  French 
as  well  as  we,  ask  our  brothers,  the  French,  if,  when  they 
are  making  war  and  have  taken  prisoners,  they  kill  those 
whom  they  have  brought  home  with  them.  No,  they  do 
not,  but  they  keep  them  to  exchange  for  their  own  men 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        175 

toy  tus  afait  des  prisonniers  Sur  le  lac  et  sur  la  riviere 
et  apres  les  avoir  faits  venir  a  ton  camp,  tus  Les  as  tue,  a 
bii  Leurs  sang  et  mange  Leurs  viande,  Es  ce  que  La  viande 
des  hommes  est  faite  pour  manger.  L'on  ne  mange  que 
La  viande  des  chevreuils  et  des  autres  animaux  que  Le 
maitre  de  la  vie  a  mis  Sur  terre,  deplus  en  fesant  La 
guerre  aux  anglois,  tu  I'a  fait  aux  frangois  en  tuant  Leurs 
animeaux  et  mangeant  Leurs  vivres,  Et  quand  ils  te  re- 
fusent  quelque  chose,  tu  les  fais  pille  par  Les  tiens,  nous 
n'avons  pas  fait  de  meme,  nous  ne  nous  Sommes  pas  at- 
tenduent  aux  vivres  des  frangais  pour  faire  La  guerre, 
nous  avions  euent  Soin  en  formant  Le  dessein  de  frape  Sur 
Les  anglois  de  faire  nos  provisions  pour  nous,  pour  nos 
femmes  et  nos  enfans,  il  falait  vous  autres  en  faire  de 
meme,  vous  ne  Seriez  pas  a  la  veille  d'avoir  des  reproches 
de  nostre  grand  pere  de  france  quand  il  viendra,  tu  I'at- 
tends  et  nous  aussi,  mais  il  sera  content  de  nous  et  non  pas 
de  toy,  pondiak  a  ce  discours  etait  comme  un  Enfant  que 
Lon  Surprend  en  faute,  qui  n'a  point  d'excuse  a  donne,  ne 
Sgait  que  dire,  Sitost  que  Kinonchamek  eut  fini  de  parle, 
Le  chef  des  chats  pris  La  parole  pour  Sa  bande  et  pour 
Les  Loups,  mes  freres,  nous  avons  aussi  frape  Sur  Les 
anglais  par  ce  que  le  maitre  de  la  vie  nous  La  fait  dire  par 
un  de  nos  freres  Loup,  mais  il  nous  a  deffendiie  de  fraper 
Sur  nos  freres  Les  frangois,  et  toy  tus  y  frape. 

Es  ce  la  ce  que  nous  t'avons  fais  dire  par  Les  colliers  que 
nous  t'avons  envoye,  demande  a  nos  freres  Les  Loups  ce 
que  Le  maitre  de  la  vie  Leurs  a  fait  dire,  il  est  Bon  de  tue, 
pendant  que  L'on  Se  bat  mais  apres  et  quand  on  a  fait  des 
prisonniers  cela  ne  vaut  plus  rien,  et  non  pas  Boire  ni 
mange  Le  sang  et  la  viande  d'hommes,  puisque  tu  est  fran- 
gois aussi  bien  que  nous,  demande  a  nos  freres  Les  fran- 
gois S'y  quand  il  font  La  guerre  ayant  fait  des  prisonniers 
s'ils  Les  tuent  quand  ils  Les  ont  ammene  chez  eux,  non 
mais  Les  gardent  pour  Les  change  pour  avoir  de  leurs 
gens  qui  sont  prisonniers  chez  Leurs  ennemis,  nous  voyons 


176  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

who  are  prisoners  among  the  enemy.  We  see  well  what 
has  obliged  thee  to  do  what  thou  hast  done  to  our  brothers, 
the  French :  it  is  because  thou  hast  begun  the  war  in- 
advisedly and  art  now  in  a  rage  at  not  having  been  able 
to  take  the  English  in  the  Fort ;  thou  art  bound  to  have  our 
brothers,  the  French,  feel  thy  bad  humor.  We  desired  to 
come  to  thy  assistance  but  shall  not  do  so,  because  thou 
wouldst  say  that  all  the  harm  which  thou  and  thy  fol- 
lowers have  caused  our  brothers,  the  French,  was  caused 
by  us.  For  this  reason  we  do  not  desire  to  put  ourselves 
in  a  bad  light  with  our  Great  Father." 

During  the  whole  council  and  even  afterwards,  Pontiac 
did  not  say  a  word  even  though  well  aware  of  his  fault, 
and  Kinonchamek,  the  Fries,  and  the  Delawares,  withdrew 
without  receiving  any  reply  from  him,  and  returned  to  their 
camp  to  rest. 

About  three  in  the  afternoon  it  was  learned  that  the 
English  at  Miami^^  had  been  defeated  and  the  post  plun- 
dered. Toward  seven  in  the  evening  news  came  that  a 
large  party  of  Indians  had  ascended  the  river  to  Turkey 
Island  opposite  the  place  where  the  sloop  was  anchored. 
When  the  people  on  the  sloop^^  detected  the  great  move- 
ment among  the  savages  on  the  island  they  feared  that  they 
were  about  to  make  an  attempt  to  capture  them;  to  avoid 
this  danger  they  raised  anchor  and  retired  to  the  open 
lake  where  they  could  wait  for  a  suitable  wind  to  ascend 
the  river  without  risk. 

June  20.     Monday. 

About  ten  A.  M.  the  Indians  came  to  fire  a  few  rounds 
at  the  Fort  from  the  north  side,  and  after  this  fusillade 
the  English  perceived  that  the  Indians  came  along  the  high- 
way insolently  and  fearlessly.  To  break  them  of  their 
boldness  a  loophole  was  cut  through  the  palisade  on  that 
side  to  mount  a  cannon  which  should  sweep  the  suburbs 
and  put  a  stop  to  the  movements  of  the  Indians. 

**The  news  of  the  taking  of  Miami  was  known  some  days  earlier  by  those 
within  the  fort  and  on  the  15th  of  June,  Washee,  the  Pottawattamie  chief,  ex- 
changed one  of  the  Miami  prisoners  for  an  Indian  who  was  held  Ijy  the  English. 
Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit. 

*°The  Schooner  arrived   on  June    SOth. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        177 

Bien  ce  qui  t'oblige  a  faire  ce  que  tu  fais  a  nos  freres  Les 
frangais,  c'est  que  tu  a  mal  commence  La  guerre  et  que  tu 
est  en  collere  de  ne  pas  pouvoir  avoir  Les  anglois  qui  sont 
dans  Le  fort,  tu  veu  que  nos  freres  Les  frangois  Se  Sen- 
tent  de  ta  mauvaise  humeur,  nous  avions  envie  de  venir 
pour  vous  aider,  mais  nous  ne  Le  ferons  pas  par  ce  que 
tu  dirois  que  tout  Le  mal  que  toi  et  tes  gens  ont  fait  a 
nos  freres  Les  frangais  que  c'est  nous  qui  L'a  fait,  ainsy 
nous  ne  voulons  pas  nous  mettre  dans  de  mauvaise  affaire 
avec  nostre  grand  pere. 

Pendant  tout  le  Conseil,  pondiak  ne  dit  pas  un  mot  ny 
meme  apres  reconnaissant  Bien  son  tord,  de  sorte  que 
Kinonchamek,  Les  chats  et  Les  Loups  se  retirerent  sans 
avoir  deluy  aucune  reponse  et  retournerent  aleurs  Camp 
pour  se  repose. 

Sur  Les  trois  heures  apres  midy  L'on  appris  La  deffaite 
des  anglois  aux  mi-a-mis  et  souillage  par  les  Sauvages  de 
ce  poste.  Sur  les  sept  heures  du  soir  L'on  Squ  que  une 
grande  partie  des  Sauvages  etaient  descendue  a  Lisle  au 
d'Inde  vis-a-vis  Tendroit  oil  la  Barque  etait  mouille.  Les 
gens  de  la  barque  voyant  dans  cette  isle  Beaucoup  de 
mouvement  parmis  les  Sauvages  craignirent  qu'ils  ne  vou- 
lussent  faire  quelque  tentative  pour  Les  prendre  pour  eviter 
Le  danger,  ils  avaient  Leve  L'ancre  et  S'etoient  retire  en 
plein  Lac,  pour  attendre  Le  vent  propre  pour  monter  dans 
la  riviere  Sans  risque. 

20e  Juin. — Le  Lundy. — Sur  les  dix  heures  du  matin  Les 
Sauvages  vinrent  faire  quelque  decharge  Sur  le  fort  du 
Coste  du  nord  es  apres  ces  decharges  Ses  Mrs.  S'apper- 
Qurent  que  Les  incursionnaires  venoient  Le  Long  du  grand 
chemin  en  pas  care  Sans  aucune  crainte,  pour  Leurs  oter 
cette  hardiesse  L'on  fit  perge  de  ce  coste  la  dans  Les  pieux 
du  fort  une  embrazure  pour  y  mettre  une  piece  de  canon 
qui  Batoit  vers  Le  Lieu  ou  etait  Le  fauxbourg  et  pour 
arreste  Les  Courses  des  nations,    sur    Les    quatre  heures 


178  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

Around  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  news  came  that 
Presqu'Isle*®  and  Beef  River®^,  posts  originally  established 
by  the  French,  but  for  three  years  now  held  by  the  Eng- 
lish, had  been  captured  by  the  Indians.  As  the  rumor  was 
not  confirmed,  it  remained  uncertain. 

On  the  initiative  of  Father  Dujonois  a  council  was  held 
between  him  and  Pontiac  concerning  the  liberty  of  the 
English  (^). 

(1)     This  was  a  marginal  note  in   French  original. 

June  21.     Tuesday. 

From  break  of  day  a  great  movement  was  discerned 
among  the  natives  who  did  nothing  but  pass  and  repass 
behind  the  Fort,  at  the  same  time  whooping  as  if  they  had 
some  attack  in  mind.  These  operations  which  seemed  a 
little  peculiar  led  the  English  to  watch  them  and  keep  on 
their  guard  all  day  long.  Although  they  tried  to  discover 
the  cause  they  did  not  learn  it  till  the  follov/ing  night  when 
IVIr.  Bab}^^?  came  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  tell 
the  Commandant  that  several  French  settlers,  who  lived  at 
the  lower  part  of  the  south  coast  upon  the  edge  of  the 
river  had  told  him  that  they  had  seen  the  sloop ;  she  seemed 
well  laden  and  had  many  people  in  her,  and  this  same  news 
which  the  savages  had  learned  first  had  put  them  in  com- 
motion. At  this  recital  of  Mr.  Baby,  the  Commandant, 
again  ordered  that  two  cannon  be  fired  suddenly  at  day- 
light in  the  direction  of  the  southwest  to  warn  the  sloop. 
Reply  to  the  preceding  council(^). 

(1)     This  was  a  marginal  note  in  the  French  original. 

June  22.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  who  had  received  news  of  the  sloop,  as  I 
have  just  told,  did  not  come  at  all  around  the  Fort  to  annoy 


^^The  news  of  the  capture  of  Presqu'ile  was  confirmed  on  June  29th.  The 
fort  at  that  place  was  a  large  blockhouse  commanded  by  Ensign  Christie.  Ac- 
cording to  his  account,  on  June  20th,  about  200  Indians  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Detroit  attacked  it.  After  resisting  for  three  days,  he  surrendered  upon  a 
promise  that  they  would  be  allowed  to  withdraw  to  the  nearest  post.  They  were 
immediately  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  the  Huron  village  near  Detroit,  where 
Christie  and  several  other  prisoners  were  handed  over  to  the  English  on  July 
9th.  Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit.  One  of  Hopkins'  Rangers,  Shellbarger,  was 
also  taken  at  Presqu'ile,  and  six  of  the  garrison  were  supposed  to  have 
escaped  to  Le  Boeuf.  Gladwin  MMS.;  Mich.  Pion.  and  Hist.  Calls.,  Vol.  XIX, 
pp.   2i8-ig. 

*^Beef  River  Fort  or  Fort  le  Boeuf  was  an  ill  constructed  blockhouse  on  the 
Le   Boeuf   River   and,    being   inland,   was   not   ranked    or    fortified   as  a   first-class 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        179 

apres  midy  il  vint  une  nouvelle  que  Lapresqu'isle  et  La 
riviere  aux  Boeufs,  anciennement  etablies  par  Les  frangois 
et  depuis  trois  ans  par  Mrs.  Les  anglais  avaient  ete  defait 
par  les  Sauvages,  cette  nouvelle  ne  fut  pas  confirme,  elle 
resta  incertaine — de  part  du  pere  dujonois,  Conseil  entre 
Lui  et  pondiak  pour  La  liberte  de  ses  Messieurs. 

21e  Juin. — Le  Mardy  21e  Juin. — Des  Le  petit  matin  L'on 
vit  un  grand  mouvement  de  la  part  des  nations,  qui  ne 
fesoient  que  passe  et  repasse  par  derriere  le  fort  en  faisant 
des  cris  comme  S'ils  eussent  voullije  tante  a  quelque  chose, 
ces  demarches  qui  avoient  quelque  chose  de  particulier  fit 
que  Ses  Mrs.  en  Les  examinant  Se  tinrent  toute  La  journee 
Sur  Leurs  gardes,  en  tachant  d'en  penetre  La  cause,  ce  que 
L'on  ne  Sgue  que  dans  La  nuit  Suivante  par  Mr.  Baby  qui 
vint  Sur  Les  deux  heures  apres  minuit  dire  a  Mr.  Le  Com- 
mandant que  plusieurs  habitans  etablis  dans  Le  Bas  de  la 
Coste  du  Sud  Sur  Le  Bord  de  la  riviere  Luy  avaient  dit 
qu'ils  avoient  vue  Labarque  qui  paroissait  Bien  charge  et 
Beaucoup  de  monde  de  dans,  et  c'est  cette  meme  nouvelle 
que  Les  Sauvages  avaient  Squ  des  premiers  qui  Les  avoient 
mis  en  rumeur,  a  ce  recit  de  la  part  de  Mr.  Baby,  Mr.  Le 
Commandant  ordonna  de  nouveau  qu'il  tire  a  la  pointe  du 
Jour  deux  coup  de  canon  toute  de  Suite  du  Coste  du 
Sorouest  pour  avertir  La  Barque.  Reponse  du  Conseil 
precedent. 

22e  Juin. — Le  mercredy  22e  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
comme  Je  viens  de  le  dire  avaient  eus  des  nouvelles  de  la 
Barque  ne  vinrent  point  au  tour  du  fort  pour  L'inquieter. 


station.  At  the  time  of  the  Indian  uprisings  it  was  occupied  by  Ensign  George 
Price,  two  corporals  and  eleven  privates.  On  June  18th  they  were  attacked  but 
managed  to  hold  out  for  a  day  and  then,  under  cover  of  the  dark,  they  escaped 
in  the  direction  of  Venango.  Upon  reaching  Venango  they  found  it  in  ruins 
and  at  last  found  their  way  to  Fort  Pitt.  Only  two  men  were  lost.  Frontier 
Forts  of  Pennsylvania   1895,   Vol.  II. 

'^Jacques  Duperon  Baby,  a  trader  and  farmer,  lived  on  the  north  shore  of 
the  river,  east  of  the  fort.  He  was  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  French  King  and 
when  the  English  took  Canada  made  preparations  to  go  to  France.  What  changed  his 
plans  is  not  known,  but  he  returned  to  Detroit,  and  when  Pontiac's  war  broke 
ont  was  very  friendly  toward  the  English.  He  secretly  furnished  provisions  to 
the  fort  and  when  Pontiac  threatened  to  force  the  neutral  French  into  his  ser- 
vice, he  begged  permission  to  come  into  the  fort.  This  was  granted  and  he  loit 
everything  he  could  not  carry  in  with  him.  He  married  Susanne  Reaume,  daugh- 
ter of  Pierre  Reaume,  and  was  the  father  of  twenty-two  children.  His  oldest 
son,   Jacques,   w^s  born  Aug.   25,   1763,   during   the   Indian  war. 


180  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

it.  This  favorable  time  was  made  use  of  to  occupy  the 
garrison  with  throwing  down  and  burning  the  rest  of  the 
fences  around  the  gardens,  cutting  down  the  fruit  trees, 
and  removing  from  around  the  Fort  whatever  could  offer 
any  shelter  whatever  to  an  Indian.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  the  news  of  the  taking  of  Presqu'Isle  was  confirmed, 
because  the  savages  who  had  undertaken  this  expedition 
were  seen  returning  in  large  numbers,  bringing  back  with 
them  by  land  the  prisoners  which  they  had  taken;  among 
these  were  the  commandant^^  of  the  place  and  a  woman, 
both  of  whom  were  presented  to  the  Hurons. 

About  three  o'clock  the  Commandant  received  informa- 
tion concerning  the  cargo  of  the  sloop  and  the  number  of 
people  aboard;  at  four  o'clock  the  Commissary  and  the 
Judge  visited  the  French  households  to  seize  provisions  for 
the  fourth  time.  Kinonchamek  departed  for  Michillimac- 
inac'^\ 

(1)     Marginal  note  in  French  original. 

June  23.     Thursday. 

The  Indians  did  not  come  to  fire  on  the  Fort  during  the 
day,  as  they  were  occupied  with  a  project  for  the  capture 
of  the  sloop  which  they  knew  to  be  at  the  entrance  to  the 
lake.  Early  in  the  morning  they  passed  in  large  numbers 
in  the  rear  of  the  Fort  to  go  to  join  those  who  had  left  two 
days  before ;  they  all  collected  on  Turkey  Island  which  is  a 
sort  of  narrow  strait  because  at  this  point  the  river  is  very 
narrow.  The  Indians  had  constructed  on  the  island  an 
intrenchment  with  tree  trunks  which  they  had  felled  and 
piled  upon  the  shore  of  the  river  on  the  side  where  the 
sloop  had  to  pass.  They  also  heaped  up  earth  and  strength- 
ened it  with  branches  in  such  a  way  that  if  they  were  seen 
Jn  their  fortifications  they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  balls. 
In  this  retreat  they  waited  the  coming  of  the  sloop. 

About  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  wind  seemed  to  have 
become  favorable  for  ascending  the  river ;  those  in  the  ves- 
sel lifted  anchor  to  take  advantage  of  it.    When  they  were 


^"Ensign  John  Christie.     See  note  86. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        181 

L'on  profita  du  bon  terns  pour  occuper  La  garnison  a  ren- 
verser  et  Bruler  les  restes  de  cloture  des  jardins  et  a 
couper  Les  arbres  a  fruit  et  a  oter  d'autour  du  fort  ce  qui 
pouvait  cache  Seulement  un  Sauvage,  dans  le  cours  de  la 
journee  La  prise  de  la  presquilsle  se  confirma  par  ce 
L'on  vit  revenir  Les  Sauvages  qui  avaient  fait  cette  Ex- 
pedition qui  etaient  en  grand  nombre  qui  ammenoient  avec 
eux  par  terre  Les  prisonniers  qu'ils  y  avaient  fait  dont  Le 
Commandant  de  cette  place  etoient  du  nombre  avec  une 
femme  qui  fut  donne  tous  deux  en  present  aux  hurons. 

Sur  Les  trois  heures  Mr.  Le  Commandant  eu  nouvelle 
de  la  charge  de  la  barque  et  de  la  quantite  de  monde  qu'il 
y  avoit  de  dans,  sur  les  quatre  heures  Mr.  Le  Commissaire 
et  Mr.  Le  Juge  firent  La  visite  chez  Les  bourgeois  pour 
les  vivres  pour  La  quatrieme  fois — depart  de  Kinonchamek 
pour  Michilimakinack. 

23e  Juin. — Jeudi  23e  Juin, — Les  Sauvages  ne  vinrent 
point  tire  Sur  Le  fort  de  la  journee  par  ce  qu'ils  etaient 
occupe  du  projet  qu'ils  avaient  fait  de  prendre  La  barque 
qu'ils  Sgavaient  estre  a  L'entre  du  Lac,  ils  passerent  des 
le  petit  matin  par  derriere  Lefort  en  grand  nombre  pour 
aller  rejoindre  ceux  qui  etoient  deux  jours  auparavant 
partis  et  furent  tous  ensemble  dans  I'isle  au  dinde  qui  est 
un  espece  de  petit  Detroit  parce  que  La  riviere  est  fort 
etroite  a  cette  endroit,  Les  Sauvages  dans  cette  isle  firent 
un  retranchement  avec  des  corps  d'arbres  qu'ils  Bucherent 
et  qu'ils  coucherent  Sur  le  bord  de  la  riviere  du  coste  que 
La  Barque  devait  passe,  ils  mirent  aussi  de  la  terre  raporte 
avec  des  branches  de  sorte  que  S'ils  eussent  ete  vue  dans 
Leurs  retranchements,  ils  ne  craignaient  pas,  Le  Boulet  et 
dans  cette  retraite  ils  attendirent  La  barque  au  passage. 
Sur  Les  Six  heures  du  soir  Le  vent  paru  devenir  favorable 
pour  monte  La  riviere  ceux  qui  etaient  dans  La  barque 
Leverent  L'ancre  pour  profiter  du  vent,  quand  elle  fut  au 
droit  de  cette  isle,  Le  vent  faibli  et  ils  furent  contrain  de 


182  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

opposite  the  island  the  wind  fell  and  they  had  to  anchor 
in  ignorance  of  the  ambuscade  which  had  been  laid  for 
them  on  the  island.  The  Indians  waited  till  night  for  their 
attack,  but  those  on  board,  anticipating  well  that  they  would 
not  reach  the  Fort  unmolested,  were  on  their  guard  with 
lookouts  fore  and  aft,  determined  to  sell  their  lives  dearly. 

In  their  intrenchment  the  Indians,  from  the  moment  the 
vessel  had  anchored  across  from  them,  had  not  ceased  to 
study  the  number  of  men  in  her,  and  seeing  only  twelve  or 
fifteen  persons  they  believed  that  they  could  attack  without 
any  risk.  Nevertheless,  there  were  sixty  or  seventy  men 
aboard.  During  the  day  the  captain  had  hidden  sixty  men 
in  the  hold,  for  he  suspected  that  the  Indians  who  were 
constantly  prowling  about  would  venture  an  attack  if  they 
saw  only  a  dozen  men.  And  this  was  the  case.  Between 
eight  and  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  Indians  put  out  in 
their  canoes  to  surround  the  sloop  and  board  her.  A  sen- 
tinel on  the  forecastle  saw  them  coming  in  the  distance; 
for  fear  of  being  heard  they  were  paddling  very  slowly. 
The  commander  of  the  sloop  was  warned,  and  he  had  all 
his  men  come  quickly  and  quietly  on  deck  and  take  places 
along  the  gunwale  with  weapons  in  their  hands ;  in  silence, 
all  ready,  with  cannons  loaded,  they  were  ordered  to  wait 
for  the  signal  Avhich  was  a  hammer-blow  on  the  poop. 
Thus  prepared,  they  allowed  the  enemy  to  come  within 
gunshot. 

The  Indians  were  overjo3''ed  at  the  silence  which  reigned 
on  the  vessel  and  thought  that  there  were  actually  only 
twelve  men  on  board,  but  a  moment  later  they  were  greatly 
undeceived ;  for  when  they  were  within  gunshot  the  signal 
was  given  and  there  was  a  general  discharge  of  cannon 
and  guns  which  swept  through  the  savages  who  returned 
to  their  intrenchment  quicker  than  they  had  come,  with  a 
loss  of  fourteen  men  killed  and  as  many  wounded.  They 
did  not  any  longer  have  a  desire  to  approach  near  the  sloop, 
but  they  fired  at  her  all  night  from  their  breastwork  and 
wounded  two  men.     The  next  day  for  lack  of  wind  the 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        183 

mouille,  Sans  Sgavoir  L'embuscade  qui  luy  etait  dresse 
dans  cette  isle,  Les  Sauvages  attenderent  j usque  a  la  nuit 
pour  L'attaquer,  mais  ceux  qui  etaient  de  dans  qui  etaient 
Bien  prevenus  qu'ils  ne  Se  rendroient  pas  devant  Lefort, 
Sans  estre  attaque  Se  tinrent  Sur  Leurs  gardes  fesant 
Bon  quart,  resoud  de  vendre  Leurs  vies,  Bien  cher.  Les 
Sauvages  dans  leurs  retranchement  que  depuis  L'instant 
que  La  Barque  avait  mouille  vis  a  vis  d'eux  n'avoient  cesse 
d'examiner  Le  monde  qu'il  y  avait  de  dans  et  n'apercevant 
que  douze  a  quinze  hommes,  crurent  qu'ils  pouvoient  L'at- 
taquer Sans  risque,  cependant  il  y  avait  de  dans  soixante 
et  douze  hommes,  celuy  qui  La  commandait  avait  cache 
pendant  Le  jour  soixante  hommes  dans  La  cal,  parcequ'il 
se  mefiais  bien  que  Les  Sauvages  qui  rodaient  tou jours, 
par  La  ne  voyant  que  douze  personnes,  tenteroient  de  Les 
prendre,  ce  qui  fut  aussi,  sur  les  huit  a  neuf  heures  du 
Soir,  Les  Sauvages  embarquerent  dans  Leurs  canots  pour 
se  rendre  autour  de  la  barque  pour  La  prendre  d'assaut, 
un  sentinel  en  faction  Sur  le  gaillard  dedevant  Les  apper- 
gue  venir  de  loing,  qui  a  peine,  peur  que  L'on  entendis, 
ne  nageais  que  faiblement,  avertis  Le  Com'd.  de  la  barque, 
qui  fit  vite  Sans  bruit  monte  tous  le  monde  Sur  Le  pont 
et  Les  plassa  autour  Le  long  des  plats  Bord  Les  armes  a 
le  main,  Les  canons  charge  tous  prest  en  Silence,  avec 
Ordre  d'attendre  Le  Signal  qui  etait  un  coup  de  marteau, 
Sur  La  dunet,  En  cette  etat  L'on  Laissa  aproche  a  la 
porte  d'un  fusil,  Les  Sauvages  Se  rejouissaient  du  silence 
qui  regnait  dans  La  Barque  croyant  qu'effectivement  il  n'y 
avait  que  douze  hommes  dedans,  mais  un  instant  apres 
ils  furent  Bien  trompe  car  Lorsque  ils  furent  a  la  porte 
du  fusil  Le  signal  se  donna  toute  la  decharge  de  canon 
et  de  fusil  il  se  fit  un  Bon  ordre  qui  fit  Brousse  chemin  au 
sauvages  qui  retournerent  dans  Leurs  retranchement  plus 
vite  qu'ils  n'en  etoient  parties  et  avec  perte  de  quatorze 
homme  tue  et  autant  de  blesse  ils  n'eurent  plus  d'envie 
d'approche  de  la  barque  de  sy  pres  mais  ils  LaFusillerent 
toute  la  nuit  de  leurs  retranchement  et  Blesserent  dedans 


184  JOURNAL    OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

vessel  dropped  down  into  the  lake  to  await  a  favorable 
wind  with  which  to  come  up. 

June  24.     Friday. 

The  Fort  was  quite  unmolested  the  whole  day.  The 
Indians  who  were  all  the  while  occupied  with  the  scheme 
of  taking  the  sloop  had  forgotten  the  Fort  for  some  time. 
There  were  only  prowlers  around  the  Fort,  two  of  whom 
came  in  their  defiance  so  near  that  they  were  seen.  Twenty 
men  with  an  officer  at  their  head  sallied  out  to  capture  them, 
but  the  two  savages  discovered  them  and  seeing  that  the 
twenty  men  were  after  them  they  dropped  their  plan  very 
quickly  and  took  to  their  heels;  the  English  came  back  as 
they  went  out — with  nothing. 

June  25.     Saturday. 

The  weather  remained  unsettled  all  day  and  there  was 
no  hostility  on  either  side. 

June  26.     Sunday^^. 

Several  soldiers,  who  had  passed  the  night  on  the  bas- 
tions as  usual,  brought  word  to  the  Commandant  that  they 
had  seen  two  Indians  enter  a  house  in  the  vicinity, — five 
hundred  yards  northeast  of  the  Fort.  At  four  in  the  morn- 
ing, by  orders  from  the  Commandant,  Mr.  Hopkins  made 
a  sortie  at  the  head  of  twenty-four  men  picked  from  his 
company  to  surround  the  house  and  take  them  prisoners. 
When  they  reached  the  place  the  two  savages  were  not 
there, — only  the  caretaker.  They  searched  the  house  every- 
where in  the  belief  that  the  two  Indians  were  hidden,  but 
they  found  only  two  sows  with  their  litters  which  they  took 
and  brought  into  the  Fort  instead  of  the  Indians.  In  some 
measure  this  capture  was  worth  more  than  the  prize  they 
wished  to  make. 

The  same  day  about  ten  in  the  morning  two  Indians  who 
had  seen  from  a  distance  how  a  couple  of  soldiers  had 
fastened  out  the  horses  of  two  officers,  their  masters,  came 


•"On  this  day  (June  26th),  Pontiac  went  to  mass  at  Father  Potier's  mission 
and  afterwards  made  a  canvass  of  the  inhabitants  for  provisions.  In  return  for 
the  goods  he  gave  bills  of  credit  signed  with  his  mark,  the  figure  of  a  "coon" 
or  "otter."  The  goods  were  all  carried  to  the  house  of  Meloche  and  Quilieriez 
(Cuillerier  dit  Beaubien)   acted  as  Commissary. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        185 

deux  hoinmes,  et  Le  Lendemain  faute  de  vent,  elle  relacha 
dans  Le  Lac  pour  attendre  le  vent  propre  pour  monter. 

24e  Juin. — Le  vendredy  24  Juin. — Le  fort  fut 
assez  tranquille  toute  La  journee  Les  Sauvages 
tou  jours  occupe  du  dessein  de  prendre  La  Barque 
avoient  oublie  Le  fort  pendant  quelque  temps,  il 
n'y  avait  a  I'entour  du  fort  que  les  rodeurs,  dont  deux 
pour  nargue  vinrent  assez  proche  pour  estre  vue,  il  sortient 
vingt  hommes  avec  un  officier  a  leur  teste,  pour  les  prendre, 
mais  les  deux  Sauvages  Les  ayant  decouvert  et  voyant  que 
Ses  vingt  hommes  en  voullaient  a  eux,  ils  Lacherent  leurs 
proies  bien  vite  et  gagnerent  aux  pieds,  et  ses  messieurs 
rentrerent  comme  ils  etaient  parties avec  rien. 

25e  Juin. — Le  Samedy  25e  Juin. — Toute  la  journee  Le 
temps  fut  inconstant,  il  n'y  eiit  aucune  hostilite  de  part  ny 
d'autre. 

26e  Juin. — Le  dimanche  26  Juin. — Plusieurs  soldats  qui 
avaient  passes  La  nuit  Sur  Les  Bastillons  suivant  L'ordi- 
naire  rapporterent  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  que  ils  avaient 
viae  entre  deux  Sauvages  dans  une  maison  voisine  du  fort 
et  eloigne  de  distance  de  huit  arpens  du  coste  du  nord  est 
du  fort,  il  sortie  a  quatre  heures  du  matin  par  ordre  de 
Mr.  Le  Commandant,  Mr.  hobquince,  captaine  a  la  teste 
de  vingt  quatre  hommes  choisies  de  Sa  Compagnie  pour 
investir  cette  maison  et  pour  les  prendre  prisonnier.  Les 
deux  Sauvages  quand  ils  furent  rendii  n'y  etaient  pas,  ils 
ils  ny  trouverent  que  Le  gardien,  ils  chercherent  partout 
dans  La  maison,  croyant  que  Les  deux  Sauvages  etoient 
caches,  ils  ne  trouverent  que  deux  truies  pleine  qu'ils 
prirent  et  apporterent  dans  le  fort,  au  lieu  des  Sauvages, 
Cette  capture  valloit  en  quelque  iaqon  mieux  que  la  prise 
qu'ils  esperoient  faire.  Ce  mesme  jour  Sur  les  dix  heures 
du  matin,  deux  soldats  qui  avaient  attache  Les  chevaux  de 
leurs  maitre  a  un  arpent  du  fort,  quand  deux  Sauvages 
qui  Les  avaient  vu  faire  de  Loing,  vinrent  en  pas  de 
guerriers  dans  les  herbes  qui  etaient  fort  grandes,  couperent 


186  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

sneaking  up  through  the  tall  grass,  cut  the  ropes  and  drove 
the  animals  away. 

June  27.     Monday. 

The  Indians,  according  to  their  custom,  prowled  around 
the  Fort  all  day  without  doing  any  firing.  Since  Mr.  Camp- 
bell and  Mr.  MacDougal  had  been  prisoners  in  Pontiac's 
camp,  Mr.  Gammelin  had  visited  them  every  two  days  and 
sometimes  every  day;  today  at  three  o'clock  P.  M.  he 
brought  a  letter  to  the  Commandant  which  Pontiac  had 
dictated  and  caused  Mr.  Campbell  to  write;  in  it  Pontiac 
notified  the  Commandant  that  he  and,  jiis  whole  force  must 
evacuate  the  Fort  at  once,  because  he  expected  within  ten 
days  Kinonchamek  and  the  great  chief  of  the  Chippewas 
with  eight  hundred  warriors  of  his  nation  whom  he  would 
not  be  able  to  control,  and  as  soon  as  they  arrived  they 
would  capture  the  Fort.  To  this  the  Commandant  replied 
that  he  was  ready  for  them,  and  him,  too,  and  defied  them. 
This  reply  did  not  please  Pontiac  nor  his  savages,  but  the 
English  cared  very  little  about  that. 

Toward  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  it  was  learned  indi- 
rectly that  the  sloop  had  hoisted  anchor  preparatory  to 
coming  up  the  river. 

June  28.    Tuesday. 

A  part  of  the  Indians  who  had  gone  down  the  rirer  to 
capture  the  sloop  came  back  to  camp  after  having  failed 
fortunately;  as  they  passed  the  Fort  they  saluted  it  with 
a  volley  without  harming  anybody.  About  two  P.  M.  the 
Hurons  re-entered  their  village.  The  news  that  the  sloop 
had  lifted  anchor  turned  out  to  be  true;  when  the  wind 
had  veered  into  the  southwest  the  vessel  took  advantage 
of  it  and  sailed  out  of  the  evil  spot  and  came  up  as  far  as 
the  River  Rouge,  two  and  a  half  miles  distant  from  the 
Fort,  where  she  anchored,  when  the  wind  failed,  a  little 
below  m  plain  sight  of  the  Fort.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  two  cannon  shots  were  fired  as  a  signal  to  her,  but 
there  was  no  reply;  this  aroused  forebodings,  for  people 
thought  the  Indians  had  captured  her  by  a  second  attack. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        187 

Les  Cordes  et  emmenerent  Les  chevaux  qui  appertenoient 
au  deux  officiers. 

27e  Juin. — Le  Lundy  27e  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  Suivant 
Leurs  Coutumes  roderent  autour  du  fort,  sans  tire  de  toute 
La  journee.  Mr.  Gammelin  qui  depuis  que  Mr.  Cambel 
et  Mr.  Magdougal  etaient  prisonniers  au  camp  de  pondiak 
avait  ete  Les  voir  tous  les  deux  jours  et  souvent  tous  les 
jours.  Cette  journee  a  trois  heures  apres  midy  apporta  a 
Mr.  Le  Commandant  une  lettre  que  Pondiak  avait  dicte 
et  fait  ecrire  par  Mr.  Cambel,  dans  laquel  pondiak  marquais 
a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  qu'il  eus  Luy  et  tout  son  monde  a 
Evoquer  incessamment  le  fort  parce  que  soi  disant  il  at- 
tendait  sous  dix  jours  Kinonchamek  avec  grand  chef  de 
sauteux  avec  huit  cents  hommes  de  sa  nation  et  desquels 
il  ne  serait  pas  Le  maitre,  et  que  a  leurs  arrive  ils  devoient 
prendre  Le  fort  dessaus.  Mr.  Le  Commandant  fit  re- 
ponce  qui  Les  attendaient  et  Lui  aussi  de  pied  ferme  et 
qu'il  se  moquois  d'eux.  Cette  reponse  ne  fit  pas  plaisir  a 
pondiak  n'y  aux  Sauvages  mais  ces  Mrs.  S'en  embarais- 
saient  fort  peu.  Sur  Les  huit  heures  du  Soir  L'on  Sgue 
indirectement  que  Labarque  avait  Leve  L'ancre  pour  mon- 
ter  La  riviere. 

28e  Juin. — Mardy  28e  Juin. — Une  partie  des  Sauvages 
qui  avaient  descendiie  pour  s'empare  de  la  Barque,  ayant 
heureusement  manque  Leurs  coups  revinrent  au  Camp  et 
en  passant  saluerent  Le  fort  de  quelques  coups  de  fusil 
sans  faire  aucun  mal  a  personne.  Les  hurons  rentrerent 
a  leurs  villages  Sur  les  deux  heures  apres  midy  L'on  eut 
nouvelle  que  La  Barque  avait  Leve  l'ancre  ce  qui  se  trouva 
vraix.  Le  vent  s'etant  mis  au  Sorouais,  elle  profita  de  ce 
moment  pour  se  retire  du  mauvais  pas  et  elle  vint  a  I'en- 
droit  de  la  riviere  rouge  a  une  Lieu  du  fort  ou  Levent 
ayant  manque  elle  mouilla  audessous  un  peu  et  fut  vue  du 
fort.  Sur  les  Sept  heures  du  soir  L'on  Luy  tira  deux  coups 
de  Canon  a  quoy  elle  ne  repondit  point,  ce  qui  donna  a 
penser,  croyant  que  les  Sauvages  I'eusse  prises  par  une 
Seconde  tentative,  ce  qui  fut  dit  tout  hautement  dans  le 


188  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

This  was  the  view  expressed  quite  loudly  by  the  judge, 
but  it  did  not  prevent  the  English  officers  from  celebrating 
with  the  band  in  the  bastion  which  faced  the  side  where 
she  was  anchored. 

June  29.     Wednesday;  St.  Peter's  Day. 

The  Indians  did  not  fire  upon  the  Fort  at  all  during  the 
day;  a  part  of  them  rested,  while  others  collected  to  make 
a  descent  upon  the  French  settlers  to  recoup  themselves  for 
their  wasted  labors.  About  three  P.  M.  some  twenty  war- 
cries  were  heard  behind  the  Fort ;  they  came  from  the  sava- 
ges who  were  returning  from  the  capture  of  Fort  Pres- 
quTsle. 

The  sloop  remained  at  anchor  all  day  where  she  had 
stopped  the  day  before  for  lack  of  wind. 

June  30.     Thursday. 

The  Indians  were  quiet  all  day  expecting  reinforcements. 

Around  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  three  war-whoops 
and  some  yells  of  joy  were  heard  coming  from  the  Indians, 
but  no  one  could  discover  what  it  meant. 

When  the  southeast  wind  came  up  those  on  the  sloop 
lifted  anchor  to  take  advantage  of  it.  As  they  passed  the 
Huron  village  they  saw  the  savages  standing  with  folded 
arms,  wrapped  in  their  blankets,  at  the  doors  of  their  cab- 
ins; the  sloop  fired  a  broadside  of  grape-shot  and  ball  which 
wounded  some  and  made  all  hurry  into  their  cabins.  Some 
of  the  Indians  seized  their  guns  and  followed  the  sloop, 
firing  upon  her  till  she  came  to  anchor  safely  in  front  of 
the  Fort  at  four  P.  M.  On  board  were  the  thirty-five  m.en 
and  the  officer  who  had  made  their  escape  toward  San- 
dusky, as  I  have  mentioned  before^ ^.  This  officer  came 
ashore  to  bring  some  letters  to  the  Commandant  in  which 
mention  was  made  that  peace  had  been  declared  and  Can- 
ada remained  in  the  possession  of  the  English  and  his 
Britannic  Majesty  paid  all  expenses  which  had  been  in- 


»iThis  schooner  brought  to  the  relief  of  the  fort  twenty-two  men  of  the  30th 
Regiment,  and  Lieut.  Cuyler  and  twenty-eight  men  of  Capt,  Hopkins'  Company 
cf  Rangers,  150  barrels  of  provisions  and  some  ammunition.  One  sergeant  and 
four  men  were  wounded  in  coming  up  the  river. 


^^^  ^'4  ^  ^^^  k^>  A"^ 


o^  , 


X 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        189 

fort  par  Mr.  Le  Juge,  cela  n'empecha  pas  Ses  Mrs.  de 
faire  un  nouvel  instrument  dans  le  Bastion  qui  fesait  face 
a  L'endroit  oti  elle  etait  mouille. 

29e  Juin. — Mercredy  29e  Juin. — Jour  de  La  feste  de 
St.  piere,  Les  Sauvages  ne  tirerent  point  de  la  journee  sur 
le  fort,  une  partie  se  reposerent  et  d'autres  furent  En- 
semble une  descende  Sur  Les  habitants  pour  Se  payer  de 
leurs  peines  inutilles.  Sur  les  trois  heures  apres  midy 
L'on  entendit  derriere  Le  fort,  une  vingtaine  de  cris  de 
mort,  c'etait  des  Sauvages  qui  revenaient  de  la  prise  du 
fort  de  la  presqueisle.  Tous  ce  jour,  la  Barque  resta 
mouille  oil  elle  avait  arreste  le  jour  precedent,  faute  de 
vent. 

30e  Juin. — Jeudi  30e  Juin. — Les  Sauvages  furent  tran- 
quilles  toute  La  journee  parce  que  durant,  ils  attendoient 
du  renfort  Sur  Les  Six  heures  du  matin,  il  fut  entendue 
du  fort  trois  cris  de  mort  et  des  cris  de  joye  venant  de  la 
part  des  sauvages  Sans  que  L'on  put  Scavoir  ce  que  pouvait 
Estre,  Le  vent  Sorouest  s  eleva,  ceux  qui  etaient  dans  La 
Barque  Leverent  L'ancre  pour  en  profiter,  en  passant 
devant  Le  village  des  hurons,  ils  virent  Les  Sauvages  qui 
etaient  Les  bras  croises  envellope  dans  leur  couverte  a  la 
porte  de  leur  cabane.  La  barque  leurs  envoya  une  bordee 
de  coup  de  canon  a  raisin  et  a  boulet  qui  en  blessa  quel- 
qu'un  et  Les  fit  tous  rentre  dans  Leurs  Cabane  ou  une 
partie  prirent  Leurs  fusils  et  conduisirent  La  barque  tirant 
dessus  Jusque  devant  Le  fort  ou  elle  mouilla  heureusement 
a  quatre  heures  apres  midy,  il  y  avait  dedans  Les  trente 
cinq  hommes  avec  L'officier  qui  S'etoient  Sauve  vers  San- 
dosque  comme  Je  I'ay  dit  cy  dessus,  cette  officier  de  barque 
pour  apporter  des  lettres  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  dans  Les- 
quelles  il  etait  fait  mention  que  la  paix  ete  faite  et  que  Le 
Canada  Leurs  restaient  et  sa  Majeste  Britannique  payois 


190  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

curred  in  Canada  since  the  commencement  of  the  war. 

July  1.     Friday. 

The  Indians  who  prowled  constantly  around  the  out- 
skirts of  the  Fort  and  the  homes  of  the  settlers  frightened 
the  domestic  animals  in  the  region ;  one  herd  of  three  oxen, 
three  cows,  and  two  calves,  came  into  the  Fort;  they 
belonged  to  Mr.  Cuillerier^^. 

Mr.  St.  Martin,  interpreter  for  the  Hurons  since  the 
beginning  of  the  siege,  had  abandoned  his  house  which  is 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  southwest  of  the  Fort,  because 
the  Indians  took  refuge  behind  it  from  which  to  shoot. 
This  led  the  English  to  fire  upon  it,  and  since  he  was  no 
safer  in  the  house  from  the  Indians  than  from  the  English 
he  retired  to  the  missionary.  Father  Potier's,  to  remain 
till  the  end  of  this  affair.  The  day  before  he  had  an  inter- 
view with  a  Huron  who  was  loyal  to  him  and  told  him  that 
the  Indians  wanted  to  make  the  French  take  up  arms  against 
the  English ;  he  was  not  in  a  mood  to  consent  to  this,  and 
asked  of  the  Commandant  a  refuge  in  the  Fort  for  himself 
and  family  which  was  granted.  He  came  with  his  mother- 
in-law,  his  wife,  and  all  his  dependents.  He  lived  one  day 
with  Mr.  La  Butte  and  afterwards  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Bellestre. 

July  2.     Saturday. 

Mr.  MacDougaP^,  who  accompanied  Mr.  Campbell  when 
they  left  the  Fort  to  visit  the  Indian  camp  and  had  been 
kept  a  prisoner,  escaped  along  with  three  other  Englishmen, 
also  prisoners  at  the  camp;  they  reached  the  Fort  at  three 
o'clock  m  the  morning.  When  they  fled  from  the  camp 
they  did  all  they  could  to  bring  Mr.  Campbell  with  them, 
but  to  no  avail ;  he  would  have  liked  to  follow  them,  but  he 
was  shortsighted  and  feared  that  in  running  from  one  dan- 
ger he  would  rush  headlong  into  another  which  might  end 


*2This  was  Anthony  Cuillerier  dit  Beaubien,  who  was  born  in  1697  and  came 
to  Detroit  in  1729.  He  lived  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  east  of  the  fort,  was 
a  trader  and  captain  of  a  company  of  habitants  and  interpreter  of  Indian  lan- 
guages. His  brother,  Jean  Baptiste,  also  lived  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
and  was  a  captain  of  militia  and  a  trader.  It  was  Anthony's  daughter  Angelique 
who  is  supposed  to  have  disclosed  Pontiac's  plans  to  Sterling,  and  his  son  Alexis 
was    probably    one    of    the    young    men    who    fought    with    the    Indians.      Pontiac 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        191 

tous  les  frais  qui  S'etait  fait  en  Canada  depuis  Le  Com- 
mencement de  la  guerre. 

ler  Juillet. — Le  vendredy  ler  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
rodoient  toujours  a  Tentours  du  fort  et  chez  les  habitans 
ayant  epouvante  des  animaux  dans  Les  coste,  il  y  en  eut 
une  bande  qui  vinrent  dans  Le  fort.  La  bande  etoient 
trois  boeuf,  trois  vache  et  deux  veaux.  Les  animaux 
appartenoient  a  Mr.  Cuillierier.  Mr.  St.  Martin,  interprete 
des  hurons  qui  depuis  le  Commencement  du  siege  avait 
abandonne  Sa  maison  qui  est  batie  a  six  arpens 
du  fort,  au  Sorouais,  a  cause  que  les  Sauvages 
qui  se  cachaient  derriere  pour  faire  tirade,  ce  qui 
occasionnais  ces  Mrs.  a  tire  dessus  et  ne  se  voyait 
pas  en  surete  dans  la  maison  pas  plus  de  la  part  des  Sau- 
vages que  de  la  part  des  anglois,  S'etoient  retire  chez  le 
missionnaire,  pere  poitier  pour  Jusque  a  La  finition  de 
cette  entreprise;  mais  ayant  eu  le  jour  precedent  un  entre- 
tien  avec  un  Huron  qui  luy  etait  afide  qui  lui  dit,  que  Les 
Sauvages  voullaient  faire  prendre  Les  armes  aux  frangais 
contre  les  anglais,  et  n'etant  pas  d'humeur  a  consentir  a 
cela,  demanda  pour  lui  et  sa  famille  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant 
une  ritirance  dans  le  fort  ce  qui  Luy  fut  accorde,  et  de 
venir,  il  y  vint  avec  Sa  Mere,  Sa  belle  Mere,  Sa  femme 
et  tout  son  monde.  II  demeura  chez  Mr.  La  Butte  une 
journee  et  apres  chez  Mr.  Bellestre. 

2e  Juillet. — Le  Samedy  2e  Juillet. — Mr.  Magdougal  qui 
avait  accompagne  Mr.  Cambel  quand  ils  sont  sortis  du  fort 
pour  aller  chez  Les  Sauvages,  et  qui  etait  reste  prisonnier 
se  sauva  avec  trois  autres  anglais  qui  etaient  aussi  prison- 
niers  du  camp  et  entrerent  dans  le  fort  a  trois  heures  du 
matin,  en  se  sauvant  du  camp,  ils  firent  tous  se  qu'ils  purent 
pour  emmener  avec  eux  Mr.  Cambel,  mais  leur  priere  fut 
inutille,  ce  Mr.  aurait  bien  voullu  Les  suivrent,  mais  ce 
Monsieur  avait  la  vue  fort  courte  et  qu'il  craignait  en  Se 

showed  great  respect  for  Anthony  and  treated  him  as  commandant  of  Detroit 
during   the   siege.     Gladwin  MMS.;  Denissen  Genealogies,   MMS. 

'•^McDougall  escaped  with  a  Schenectady  trader,  Van  Eps.  Another  trader, 
who  had  been  taken  with  Crawford  on  the  Huron  River,  escaped  and  reached 
the  schooner. 


idl2  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

his  days  before  the  time.  He  did  not  want  to  run  any 
chances  of  dying  till  he  had  to. 

At  five  in  the  morning  an  officer  made  a  sortie  with 
twenty  men  to  destroy  the  fences  of  Mr.  St.  Martin's  gar- 
den and  cut  down  the  grain  in  which  the  savages  hid. 
When  the  latter  saw  that  their  hiding  places  were  being 
cut  down  and  destroyed,  they  started  with  determination 
in  pursuit  of  the  English  who  went  back  to  the  Fort  quicker 
than  they  had  left  it.  *  *  *  *  *  The  Indians  kept 
up  a  fire  upon  the  Fort  without  injuring  anybody.  In  the 
meantime  the  English  have  been  content  to  keep  close  watch 
every  day,  and  have  placed  soldiers  on  guard  in  two  tem- 
porary bastions  which  are  outside  on  a  slope  of  the  hill 
behind  the  Fort;  during  these  days  there  are  always  four 
sentries  in  each  bastion  day  and  night. 

The  garrison  and  the  new  arrivals  from  the  sloop  were 
busy  unloading  her  a  part  of  the  day,  and  fetching  the 
cargo  into  the  warehouse. 

Toward  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  news  came  that  the 
Indians  had  been  to  the  homes  of  all  the  French  settlers  in 
every  section,  and  had  brought  to  their  camps  all  old  men 
and  heads  of  families  to  take  part  in  a  counciP^  which 
they  desired  to  hold,  and  in  which  they  wished  to  oblige  the 
French  to  take  up  arms  against  the  English.  In  the  course 
of  the  night  it  was  learned  that  the  Indians  after  the  coun- 
cil I  am  going  to  speak  about  had  sent  back  all  the  fathers 
of  families  and  the  old  men  to  their  homes  without  doing 
them  any  harm. 

Pontiac  who  was  in  despair  over  the  arrival  of  the  sloop 
resolved  to  cause  the  French  settlers  by  force  or  friend- 
ship to  take  up  hostilities,  seeing  that  in  spite  of  the  designs 
of  himself  and  his  followers  help  of  men  and  provisions 
reached  these  English.     In  order  to  succeed  in  his  project 


»*Robert  Navarre,  Zacharie  Cicotte,  Louis  Campau,  Antoine  Cuillerier  and  Fran- 
cois Meloche  were  among  those  who  attended  this  council.  At  this  council, 
Cicotte  informed  Pontiac  that  they  would  not  help  him  on  account  of  theii 
families,  but  that  there  were  about  300  young  men  at  Detroit  who  had  no  fam- 
ilies and  they  would  join  him.  They  formed  a  plan  to  attack  the  fort  on  or 
about  July  6th,  the  Indians  from  without  and  the  French  residing  in  the 
fort  from  within.     Gladwin   MMS.,  p.  656. 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'l'NE    CONSPIRATION        193 

Sauvant  d'un  danger  d'aller  se  jetter  dans  un  autre  qui 
aurait  peut  etre  termine  Ses  jours  d'existence  avant  le 
temps,  il  ne  voullu  point  S'expose  a  mourir  plustot  qu'il 
n'etait  necessaire. 

A  cinq  heures  du  matin  un  officier  sortie  avec  vingt  Sol- 
dat  pour  detruire  les  clostures  du  pare  a  Mr.  St.  Martin  et 
couper  Les  bled  dans  Lesquels  Les  Sauvages  se  cachoient 
Lesquels  s'apercevant  que  L'on  coupoient  et  detruisoient 
Leurs  caches  vinrent  en  determine  donne  La  poursuite  a 
Mrs.  Les  Anglais  qui  rentrerent  dans  le  fort  plus  vite  qu'ils 
n'en  etoient  sortient.       ******** 

Les  Sauvages  tirerent  Sur  Lefort  Sans  faire  mal  a  per- 
sonne  et  cependant  ces  Mrs.  se  sont  Contentes  de  faire  bon 
quart  tout  Le  jours  et  ont  place  des  soldats  en  faction  dans 
deux  ca^aliers  qui  etaient  dehors  du  fort  dans  une  pente 
du  costeau  derriere  Le  fort  et  depuis  ce  jours  il  y  a  toujours 
eu  dans  les  deux  cavaliers  quatre  factionnaire  jour  et  nuit. 
La  garnison  avec  les  nouveaux  arrivant  dans  la  barque 
furent  occupe  a  la  decharge  une  partie  de  la  journee  et 
amener  sa  charge  dans  Le  magazin. 

Sur  Les  sept  heures  du  soir,  il  vint  une  nouvelle  que  Les 
Sauvages  avoient  ete  chez  tous  les  habitans  dans  toutes 
Les  Costes  et  avoient  emmene  a  Leurs  Camps  tous  les  veil- 
lards  et  Le  chefs  de  famille  pour  estre  present  a  un  conseil 
qu'ils  devoient  tenir  et  dans  ce  conseil  il  voullait  oblige 
Les  frangais  a  prendre  Les  amies  contre  Mrs.  Les  Anglais. 

L'on  Sgue  dans  la  nuit  que  Les  Sauvages  apres  Le  Con- 
seil dont  Je  vais  parle  avoient  renvoye  tous  Les  peres  de 
famille  et  Les  viellards  chez  eux  Sans  leur  avoir  fait  aucun 
tord. 

Pondiak  au  desespoir  de  I'heureuse  arrivee  de  la  barque 
voyant  que  malgre  ces  desseins  a  lui  et  de  ses  gens  Les 
secours  de  vivres  et  de  monde  venoient  a  Ces  Mrs.  il  resolu 
de  faire  prendre  les  armes  aux  habitans  de  force  ou 
d'amitie,  Et  pour  reussir  a  ses  pro  jets  il  fut  convie  tous 
Les  chefs  de  famille  et  Les  vieillards  de  venir  en  conseil 


194  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

he  had  all  the  heads  of  families  and  the  old  men  sum- 
moned to  a  council  in  his  camp,  under  the  pretext  that  it 
was  about  a  matter  they  were  concerned  in.  WHien  all 
had  come,  following  his  usual  custom  he  began  to  speak, 
addressing  himself  to  the  French  and  at  the  same  time 
handing  them  war-belts.     This  is  what  he  said: 

"My  brothers,  I  am  beginning  to  grow  tired  of  seeing 
our  lands  encumbered  by  this  carrion  flesh  (the  English), 
and  I  hope  you  feel  the  same.  I  believe  you  are  about 
ready  to  conspire  with  us  to  destroy  them;  still,  it  has 
seemed  to  me  that  you  have  been  abetting  them  to  our  hurt. 
I  have  already  told  you,  and  I  say  it  again,  that  when  I 
began  this  war  it  was  for  your  interests  as  well  as  ours.  I 
knew  what  I  was  about. 

"I  know  Fort  Erie  has  fallen.  I  say  I  know  it,  and  this 
year  all  the  English  in  Canada,  no  matter  how  large  their 
force,  must  perish.  It  is  the  Master  of  Life  who  com- 
mands it;  He  has  made  known  his  will  unto  us, — we  have 
responded,  and  must  carry  out  what  He  has  said,  and  you 
French,  you  who  know  Him  better  than  we, — will  you  all 
go  against  His  will?  (Up  to  now)  I  have  not  wished  to 
speak,  hoping  that  you  would  let  us  take  our  course ;  I  have 
not  wished  to  urge  you  to  take  up  arms  with  us  against 
them,  for  I  did  not  think  you  would  side  against  us.  I 
know  very  well  you  are  going  to  say-  that  you  do  not  side 
with  them,  but  you  are  siding  with  them  when  you  report 
to  them  all  that  we  do  and  say.  For  this  reason  there  is 
only  one  way  open  today:  either  remain  French  as  we  are, 
or  altogether  English  as  they  are.  If  you  are  French, 
accept  this  war-belt  for  yourselves,  or  your  young  men,  and 
join  us;  if  you  are  English  we  declare  war  upon  you,  which 
will  show  our  valor  all  the  more  because  we  know  you  to 
be  children  of  our  Great  Father  (the  king  of  France)  as 
well  as  we ;  to  make  war  upon  our  brothers  for  the  sake  of 
such  dogs  pains  us,  and  it  will  cost  us  an  effort  to  attack 
you  inasmuch  as  we  are  all  French  together;  and  if  we 
should  attack  we  should  no  longer  be  French.     But  since 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        195 

a  son  camp  soit  disant  pour  affaire  qui  Les  regardaient, 
OU  etant  tous  reuni  il  prit  La  parole  suivant  son  ordinaire 
parlant  a  tous   les    frangais   en  leur   donnant   Collier   de 
guerre,  au  milieu  du  Conseil  et  Leurs  dit,  Mes  freres  Je 
viens  Bien  a  me  Lasse  de  voir  cette  mauvaise  viande  sur 
nos  terres  et  j'espere  qu'il  en  est  de  mesme  de  vous,  je 
crois  que  vous  n'en  Etes  pas  bien  loing  de  conspirer  avec 
nous  a  leurs  pertes.     II  me  semble  cependant  que  vous  les 
soulage  a  notre  prejudice  Je  vous  ai  deja  dit  et  je  vous 
le  repete  encore  que  quand  Jay  commence  cette  guerre  que 
ga  ete  pour  vos  interest  autant  que  pour  Les  notres  et  que 
Je  Sgavais  ce  que  je  fesais,  Je  sais  que  le  Fort  Erie  a  ete 
pris  disje  je  le  Sgay  et  cette  annee  il  faut  qu'ils  perissent 
tous    dans  le  Canada,    quelque  force  qu'ils   ayent,    c'est  le 
maitre  de  La  vie  qui  le  dit  II  nous  a  fait  connaitre  Sa 
volonte,  nous  sont  conniie  et  il  faut  faire  ce  qu'il  dit,  Et 
vous  autres,  francais,  vous  le  Connaissez  mieux  que  nous, 
vous  voullez  alle  contre  ces  volontes    *     *     *     *    Je  nay 
pas  voulu  parle  esperant  que  vous  nous  Laissiez  faire,  Je  n'ai 
pas  voullu  vous  inquieter  pour  Les  Battre  avec  nous  parce 
que  je  ne  pensais  pas  que  vous  vous  mettriez   de  leurs 
cotes  contre  nous.    Vous  n'allez-vous  dire  que  vous  n'estre 
pas  avec  eux,  Je  le  Sgay  Bien,  mais  c'est  toujours  y  estre 
parce  que  vous  leurs  rapportes  tous  ce  que  nous  fesons  et 
tous  ce  que  nous  disons,  ce  qui  fait  qu'aujourdhui,  il  n'y 
a  plus    d'autres  parties    aprendre    il  faut  estre    frangais 
comme  nous  ou  tout  anglais  comme  eux:     Si  vous  etes 
frangais  accepte  ce  collier,  pour  vous,  ou  pour  vos  Jeunes 
gens  pour  Se  joindre  a  nous,  Sy  vous  estes  anglais,  nous 
vous  declarons  La  guere,  ce  qui  nous  est  encore  de  valeur 
parce    que  nous  vous    connaissons    pour  des  enfants    de 
nostre   grand   pere   aussi   bien   que  nous   et   de   faire   La 
guerre  a  nos  freres  par  des  chiens,  ga  nous  fais  de  la  peine 
et  nous  aurions  peine  a  consentir  a  fraper  Sur  vous  etant 
tous  frangais  et  S'y  nous  y  consentions  nous  ne  Serions 
plus  frangais  et  comme  nous  Le  tous.    C'est  tout  ensemble 


196  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

we  are  French  it  is  wholly  the  interests  of  our  Father, 
yours  and  ours,  that  we  defend.  Therefore  answer,  my 
brothers,  that  we  may  come  to  an  understanding;  and  be- 
hold this  belt  which  makes  its  appeal  to  you  or  your  young 
men." 

One  of  the  principal  Frenchmen^"  who  had  almost  sus- 
pected the  design  of  Pontiac  and  had  brought  with  him  to 
the  council  a  copy  of  the  Capitulation  of  iMontreal  and 
Detroit  arose  and  responding  for  all  the  French  said,  hold- 
ing the  document  in  his  hand : 

"My  brothers,  your  wishes  are  sufficiently  known  to  us. 
When  you  began  this  war  upon  the  English  we  foresaw 
well  that  you  would  force  us  to  take  up  arms  against  them. 
We  do  not  hesitate  an  instant  to  follow  you  and  with  you 
defend  the  interests  of  our  Father,  but  first  you  must 
remove,  if  you  can,  the  bonds  which  tie  our  hands  and 
which  the  Father  of  the  French  and  the  Father  of  the 
English  have  knotted  about  us  as  the  only  hindrance  to 
our  accepting  this  war-belt.  Do  you  think,  my  brothers, 
that  it  is  very  easy  or  agreeable  for  us  to  see  you  take  up 
our  interests  without  assisting  you?  Believe  us,  we  are 
grieved  over  it,  and  you  forget  what  we  said  on  this  sub- 
ject in  the  last  council  w^hich  we  all  held  together.  But  the 
king  of  France  when  he  gave  these  lands  here  to  the  king 
of  England  commanded  us  not  to  fight  against  the  English, 
but  to  regard  them  as  our  brothers  and  the  English  father 
and  king  as  our  father  and  king.  You  believe,  possibly, 
that  we  say  this  out  of  lack  of  desire.  No!  Our  Father 
has  made  known  his  will  to  us  by  sending  us  this  document 
and  he  orders  us  to  remain  quiet  in  our  houses,  for  he  alone 
wishes  to  deliver  us.  Without  considering  this  you  say 
that  if  we  do  not  accept  your  war-belt  you  will  make  war 
upon  us.  *  *  *  Our  Father  has  not  forbidden  us  to 
fight  when  our  brothers,  the  English,  attack;  although  you 


^^Rumors  of  peace  had  reached  the  Indians  some  time  before,  but  they  per- 
sisted in  believing  it  only  a  lie  spread  by  the  English  to  deceive  them.  Mr. 
Navarre  is  recorded  in  the  Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit,  July  4th,_  as'  having 
published  the  Articles  of  Peace  to  the  French  and  Indians.  It  is  quite  probable 
that   this  refers   to  the  present  occasion   on  July   2nd.      Gladwin  MMS.,  p.  656. 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION    d'unE   CONSPIRATION        197 

Les  interests  dc  nostre  pere,  Le  votre  et  le  notre  que  nous 
defendons,  ainsy  repondez  nous  mes  freres  que  nous  vous 
entendions  et  regardez  ce  collier  qui  s'addresse  a  vous  ou  a 

vos  jeunes  gens,  un  des  principaux  des   frangais 

qui  S'etait  presque  mefie  du  dessein  de  pondiak  et  qui 
avait  porte  avec  Luy  au  conseil  La  copie  de  la  Capitulation 
du  Montreal  et  du  Detroit  Se  leva  et  prenant  la  parole 
pour  tous  Les  frangais,  La  copie  a  la  main  s'adressant  aux 
Sauvages :  Leur  dit,  mes  freres,  vos  volontes  nous  sont 
assez  connus,  quand  vous  avez  commence  a  fraper  Sur 
Mr.  Les  anglais,  nous  avons  Bien  prevus  que  vous  nous 
forceriez  a  prendre  Les  armes  contre  eux,  nous  ne  balan- 
cons  pas  d'un  instant  a  vous  suivre  et  avec  vous  de  prendre 
les  interest  de  notre  pere,  mais  il  faut  auparavant  que 
vous  nous  otiez  si  vous  pouvez  ces  attache  qui  nous  Lie 
Les  Bras  a  tous  et  que  le  pere  des  frangais  et  Le  pere  des 
anglais  ont  nouez  Sur  nous  et  qui  nous  empeche  eux 
seulement  de  prendre  le  collier,  croyez-vous  Mes  freres 
qu'il  n'est  pas  Bien  facile  et  agreable  de  vous  voir  prendre 
nos  interest  Sans  pouvoir  vous  aider,  croyez  nous,  nous 
en  sommes  peines,  vous  ne  vous  Souvenez  plus  de  ce  que 
nous  avons  dit  a  ce  Sujet  dans  Le  dernier  Conseil  que 
nous  avons  tenijs  tous  ensemble,  Le  Roy  de  France  en 
donnant  ces  terres  icy  a  roy  d'angleterre  et  il  nous  a 
deffendue  de  nous  battre  contre  les  anglais  et  de  regarder 
les  anglais  comme  nos  freres  et  Le  pere  et  le  roy  des 
anglais  comme  nostre  pere  et  notre  Roy.  Vous  croyez 
pent  estre  que  c'est  par  mauvaise  volonte  que  vous  nous 
disons  cela,  non,  nostre  pere  a  tous  nous  a  fait  connaitre 
sa  volonte,  en  nous  envoyant  son  ecrit  que  voila  et  il  nous 
ordonne  de  rester  tranquille  sur  nos  nattes  jusqu'a  ce 
qu'il  vienne  parce  qu'il  veut  seulement  Luy  qui  nous  delie 
et  vous  autres  Sans  Considere  cela  vous  dites  que  Si  nous 
ne  prenons  pas  votre  Colier  vous  nous  ferez  La  guerre 
*****  notre  pere  nous  a  pas  defendue  de  nous 
battre,    quand    nos   freres    Les   anglais    font    La    guerre 


198  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

have  called  us  English  it  will  not  be  of  our  own  desire  if 
we  shall  fight  against  you.  But  Frenchmen,  as  we  are  now 
and  have  always  been,  we  are  surprised,  my  brothers ;  you 
forget  that  when  our  Father  (the  French  commander) 
left  here  you  promised  him  you  would  defend  us,  our  wives 
and  our  children,  and  it  is  not  so.  What  harm  have  we 
done  you  as  far  as  the  English  are  concerned?  And  then 
did  you  not  promise  our  Father  that  you  would  wait  for 
him  to  come  back?  And  you  have  not  done  so,  because 
you  are  fighting  instead  of  waiting  for  him.  *  *  *  * 
and  when  he  comes  he  will  deliver  us,  and  we  shall  join 
ourselves  to  him  and  all  do  his  will.  It  is  now  your  turn 
to  speak,  my  brothers!" 

Pontiac  was  spurred  on  by  a  band  of  irresponsible  and 
vagabond  Frenchmen^^  who  had  neither  chick  nor  child 
in  the  region,  and  had  thrown  off  the  mask  inasmuch  as 
they  did  not  have  much  to  lose ;  he  replied  that  it  was  nec- 
essary to  do  as  he  did,  and  if  it  was  not  the  old  men,  then 
it  must  be  the  young  men.  When  the  French  saw  them- 
selves driven  into  a  corner  by  the  obstinacy  of  Pontiac  they 
asked  him  for  delay  until  the  following  day  when  all  would 
return  bringing  their  reply. 

One  of  the  leaders  of  the  renegade  French,  who  thought 
that  by  putting  himself  and  his  whole  gang  on  the  side  of 
the  savages  they  would  be  safe  in  their  foolishness,  arose 
in  his  place,  at  the  same  time  picking  up  the  belt,  and  turn- 
ing to  the  Indians  said: — 

"I  and  my  young  men  break  away  from  our  bonds;  all 
accept  the  war  belt  which  you  offer  us  and  are  ready  to 
follow  you.  We  shall  go  and  find  other  young  men  to  join 
us, — there  are  enough  of  them — and  we  shall  make  them 

*****  that  you  may  see  how  soon  we  shall 
capture  the  Fort  and  all  that  is  in  it." 

All  the  old  settlers  who  had  been  called  to  the  council 
trembled  when  they  saw  such  a  base  proposal  made  by  peo- 
ple without  heart  or  honor;  they  asked  to  be  allowed  to 


'^See  note  94. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'UNE   CONSPIRATION        199 

qiioy  que  vous  nous  appeliez  anglais,  ce  ne  sera  pas  pour 
nous  que  nous  batterons  contre  vous,  mais  des  frangais 
tels  que  nous  sommes  et  que  nous  avons  tou jours  ete  nous 
Sommes  surpris,  mes  freres,  vous  avez  oublie  que  quand 
notre  pere  est  partis  d'icy  que  vous  Luy  avez  promis  de 
nous  defendre  et  de  nous  proteger  nous,  nos  femmes  et 
nos  enfans,  au  lieu  de  nous  estre  ainsi,  quel  mal  es  ce  que 
nous  vous  avons  fait,  esce  par  rapport  a  L'anglais;  puis 
n'avez-vous  pas  promis  a  nostre  pere  que  vous  L'attenderiez 
et  vous  ne  Tavez  pas  fait  puisque  vous  vous  batte  pour 
Luy  attende  qu'il  vienne  *  *  *  *  ^^  Lorsqu'il  sera 
venus  il  nous  deliera  et  nous  nous  joindrons  a  Luy  et 
nous  ferous  tous  ensemble  ces  volontes;  repondez  nous  a 
votre  tour  mes  freres. 

Pondiak;  qui  etait  souffle  par  une  bande  de  frangais 
volontaire,  Et  gabans,  qui  n'ayant  dans  I'endroit  ny  feu 
ni  Lieu  avaient  Leve  Le  masque  et  se  mettait  guere  en 
peine  de  se  perdre;  repondit  qu'il  falais  faire  Comme  Luy 
et  que  S'y  ce  n'etoient  pas  Les  vieillards  il  falais  que  ce 
fut  Les  jeunes  gens.  Les  frangais  Se  voyant  pousse  a 
bout  par  L'obstination  de  pondiak  Luy  demanderent  du 
delai  jusqu'au  Lendemain  qui  tous  viendrais  Luy  rendre 
reponce;  un  des  chefs  gabands  qui  croyais  que  Se  mettant. 
Luy  et  toute  Sa  cabale  du  coste  des  sauvages  ils  seroient  a 
couvert  de  toute  Sotise  Se  Leva  de  sa  place  en  ramassant 
Le  Collier,  puis  S'adressant  aux  Sauvages  dit :  Mes  freres 
moy  et  mes  jeunes  gens  nous  rompons  nos  Liens  et  nous 
acceptons  tous  Le  colier  que  vous  nous  donne  et  nous 
sommes  prest  a  vous  suivre  et  nous  irons  cherche  d'autres 
jeunes  gens  pour  se  joindre  a  nous,  nous  en  trouverons 
Bien  et  nous  les  ferons  bien  *  *  *  qyg  vous  venez, 
que  nous  aurons  bien  tost  Le  fort  et  tout  ce  qui  a  dedans. 

Voyant  une  proposition  Si  basse,  faite  par  des  gens 
Sans  Coeur  et  sans  honneur  fit  fremir  tous  les  anciens  qui 
avaient  ete  appele  au  conseil.  Les  quels  ayant  demande 
Jusqu'au    Lendemain    a    rendre    reponce    demanderent    a 


200  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF    A    CONSPIRACY 

make  their  reply  on  the  next  day,  and  very  much  grieved 
to  see  a  band  of  scoundrels  espouse  Pontiac's  cause  they 
asked  permission  to  withdraw. 

Pontiac  dismissed  the  old  men,  shaking  hands  with  them 
all,  and  each  went  home  filled  with  anger  at  having  been  a 
witness  of  an  action  so  despicable  which  sooner  or  later 
would  involve  all  the  French.  The  vagabonds  who  had 
accepted  the  belt  remained  at  the  camp,  for  they  well  knew 
that  after  such  a  deed  they  would  not  find  anyone  who 
would  receive  them  into  his  home.  The  council  was  not 
concluded  till  eight  o'clock  which  made  it  too  late  to  find 
out  what  warlike  qualities  these  new-made  savages  pos- 
sessed. 

July  3.     Sunday. 

The  Indians  spent  the  whole  dav  in  festivities,  regaling 
their  new  warriors.  The  Commandant  who  learned  in  the 
morning  what  had  taken  place  the  night  before  in  the  camp 
ordered  the  judge  to  count  the  guns,  weapons,  axes,  and 
pick-axes  of  all  the  French  in  the  Fort  and  to  make  a  list 
of  those  who  had  arms  and  of  those  who  did  not.  so  that  in 
case  of  need  everything  could  be  made  use  of. 

Tov/ard  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  a  sortie  was  made  by  twenty 
men  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  a  fence  which  enclosed 
an  orchard.  The  trees  were  cut  down  and  the  palings 
pulled  up  and  burned  with  the  trees,  and  the  field  was 
cleared.  The  garden  belonged  to  Mr.  Cesir^',  a  French  citi- 
zen of  the  Fort.  In  the  afternoon  the  Commandant  ordered 
the  judge  to  call  all  the  French  in  the  Fort  together  at  the 
church  door  in  order  to  read  the  news  of  the  conclusion  of 
peace.     After  the  reading  the  band  played  for  an  hour. 

A  son  of  a  certain  French  settler  was  unhappily  among 
the  plotters,  but  by  a  multitude  of  remonstrances  and  a 
feeling  of  shame  was  induced  to  recognize  his  fault  and 
that  of  his  companions  and  desert  them.    He  brought  away 


^■'Jean  Cesir  was  a  blacksmith  who  came  to  Detroit  from  Lachine  about  1734 
and  took  up  his  residence  on  St.  Louis  street.  His  wife  was  Margaret  Char- 
lotte Girard,  dai.ghter  of  Leo  Girard  of  Lachine.  Jean  died  and  was  buried  at 
Detroit  April  S.3,  1767.  His  wife  was  buried  at  Detroit  Sept.  2S,  1.'97.  D^nis- 
seti's   Genealogies  MMS. 


JOURNAL    OU    DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION         201 

pondiak  a  Se  retire,  tres  peine  de  voir  engage  dans  son 
parti  tine  bande  de  coquin. 

Pondiak  renvoya  Les  anciens  Leurs  donnant  La  main  a 
tons  en  Les  saluant  chacun  Se  retira  chez  Soy  Bien 
courouce  d'avoir  ete  Spectateurs  d'une  action  aussi  basse 
qui  tot  OU  tard  tomberoient  sur  tous  Les  frangais.  Les 
gabans  qui  ayant  accepte  Le  colier  resterent  au  Camp 
parce  qu'ils  savaient  bien  qu'apres  une  action  pareille  ils 
ne  trouveroient  plus  et  aucun  ne  les  voulliirent  Les  recevoir 
chez  eux,  ce  conseil  Commenga  et  ne  finit  qu'a  huit  heures 
de  sorte  que  le  jour  etait  trop  avance  pour  essayer  a 
trouver  les  qualites  guerrieres  des  nouveaux  Sauvages. 

3e  Juillet — Dimanche  3e  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages  eni- 
ployerent  toute  La  journee  au  festin  et  a  regale  Leurs 
nouveaux  guerier.  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  qui  Squs  Le  matin  ce 
qui  s'etait  passe  La  veil  au  camp  ordonna  a  Mr.  Le  Juge 
de  conter  les  fusils,  les  armes,  Les  baches  et  les  pioches 
de  tous  les  frangais  du  fort  et  de  faire  une  liste  de  ceux 
qui  avaient  des  armes  et  de  ceux  qui  n'en  avaient  point, 
afin  que  de  tout  on  pue  s'en  servir  au  besoin.  Sur  les  dix 
heures  du  matin  il  sorties  vingt  hommes  de  la  garnison 
pour  defaire  une  cloture  ou  il  y  avait  un  jardin  fruitier. 
Les  arbres  furent  buches  et  les  pieux  arrache  et  Brule 
avec  les  arbres  et  L'on  rendit  ce  terrein  nette.  Ce  jardin 
appertenait  a  Mr.  Cesir,  bourgeois  du  fort.  Dans  I'apres 
midy  Mr.  Le  Juge  eut  ordre  de  Mr.  Le  Commandant  de 
faire  assemble  tous  Les  frangais  du  fort  devant  La  porte 
de  I'eglise  pour  Leur  faire  La  lecture  des  conclusions  de 
la  paix  OU  apres  La  lecture  faite  il  y  eut  un  concert  d'ins- 
trument  L'espace  d'un  heure. 

Un  habitant  qui  malheureusement  avait  Son  fils  du 
nombre  des  cabaliste  Lequel  par  Beaucoup  de  remontrances 
et  de  honte  que  L'on  Luy  fit,  reconnii  Sa  faute  et  celle  de 
tous  ces  camarades  se  retira  d'avec  eux  et  emporta  avec 
Luy  le  colier  qu'il  donna  a  son  pere  pour  rendre  a  pondiak. 


203  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

with  him  the  war-belt  which  he  gave  to  his  father  to  take 
back  to  Pontiac.  Early  in  the  morning  the  father  went  to 
see  Pontiac  who  loved  him  greatly  and  said  to  him: 

"My  brother,  thou  who  art  chief  whom  up  to  now  I  have 
known  as  possessing  sense,  but  thou  hast  it  no  longer  since 
thou  dost  listen  to  young  men  who  will  betray  thee  instead 
of  aiding  thee  and  perhaps  will  deliver  thee  to  the  English. 
Thou  who  dost  command  so  many  people,  thou  allowest 
thyself  to  be  commanded  by  people  who  have  no  intelli- 
gence. Those  who  have  told  thee  that  they  are  going  to 
assist  thee  in  capturing  the  Fort  will  be  the  first  to  run 
away.  Thou  hast  always  scorned  a  man  who  placed  him- 
ggjj:  >i:  H;  *****  n«  saying  to  thyself  that  he 
was  a  worthless  fellow,  and  today  ****** 
Hast  thou  lost  thy  mind?  Why  place  ***** 
like  thee,  young  men  who  have  no  sense  and  who  are  going 
to  come  here  in  tears  to  deny  what  they  have  said?     *     * 

*  *  *  with  thee,  because  they  will  kill  thee  perhaps. 
O  Indians,  you  are  men  and  have  no  need  of  anybody  and 
if  you  make  use  of  these  young  men,  under  what  obliga- 
tions will  our  Father  be  to  you  ?  When  he  comes  and  learns 
how  you  have  compelled  the  French  to  take  up  arms  he 
will  say:  Tt  is  not  you  who  have  driven  out  the  English, 
it  is  the  French  and  the  rest  of  you  have  only  looked  on.' 
He  will  scorn  you.  Therefore,  Pontiac,  listen  to  me.  Take 
back  thy  M^ar-belt  which  my  son  returns,  and  ponder  well 
what  I  have  just  told  thee." 

Pontiac,  for  an  Indian,  was  not  lacking  in  intelligence 

*  :i:  *  *  *  a^s  y^TQii  as  those  of  his  Ottawa  nation. 
(He  listened)  very  attentively  to  what  the  Frenchman  had 
just  told  him.  "Thou  art  right,  my  brother,"  he  replied, 
"and  I  thank  thee  for  the  warning  thou  hast  given  me." 
And  he  took  the  war-belt  and  they  separated — one  to  go 
to  the  camp,  the  other  to  his  home.  From  this  time  on  they 
did  not  press  the  French  to  take  up  hostilities.  It  was  only 
the  Chippewas,  the  Pottawattamies,  and  the  bad  Huron 
band  that  tried  several  times  to  compel  the  French  to 
attack  the  English  as  I  shall  tell  later. 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        203 

Cette  honime  f  iit  de  bon  matin  trouve  pondiak  de  qui  il  etait 
beaucoup  aime  et  Luy  dit :  toy  mon  f rere  qui  est  chef  et 
qui  Jusque  icy  Jay  connu  avoir  de  L'esprit,  tu  n'en  as  plus 
pour  ecouter  de  jeunes  gens  qui  dans  quelque  terns,  au  lieu 
de  t'aider,  te  trahirons  et  peut  estre  te  Livrerons  aux 
anglois,  toy  qui  commande  tant  d'hommes,  tu  te  laisses 
commande  par  des  gens  qui  n'ont  point  d'esprit.  Ceux 
qui  t'ont  dit  qu'ils  vont  t'aider  a  prendre  Le  fort  Seront 
Les  premiers  a  fuir,  vous  qui  avez  tou jours  meprise  un 
homme  qui  se  mettait  *****  vous  disant  que 
c'etait  un  mauvais  sujet  et  aujourdhui  ***** 
vous  avez  done  perdue  L'esprit,  pourquoy  mettre  *  *  * 
Comme  vous  des  jeunes  gens  qui  n'ont  point  d'esprit  et 
qui  vont  venir  pleure  pour  se  dedire  de  ce  qu'ils  auront 
^^j^  5ic  *  *  *  *  Sujet  d'avec  vous  parce  que  peut 
estre  ils  vous  tueront,  vous  autres,  vous  etes  des  hommes 
et  qui  n'avez  besoin  de  personne  et  si  vous  vous  servez 
de  ces  jeunes  gens  quel  obligation  vous  aura  notre  pere 
lorsqu'il  vienne  quand  il  Sgaura  que  vous  avez  fait  prendre 
Les  armes  aux  frangais,  il  vous  dira  ce  n'est  pas  vous 
autres  qui  avez  chasse  Les  anglais,  ce  sont  les  frangais  et 
vous  autres  vous  n'avez  rien  fait  que  regarder  et  il  ne 
vous  regardera  pas,  ainsy  pondiak,  crois  moy  reprend  ton 
collier  que  mon  fils  te  rend  et  ecoute  Bien  ce  que  Je  viens 
de  te  dire. 

Pondiak  pour  un  Sauvage  ne  manquait  pas  d'esprit 
*  "  *  *  *  tout  ainsi  que  ceux  de  sa  nation  Outaouaise, 
Beaucoup  *****  attentivement  ce  que  le  frangais 
venais  de  lui  dire ;  et  il  lui  repondit  Tu  as  raison,  mon  f  rere, 
Je  te  remercie  de  tes  avertissements  que  tu  m'as  donne 
et  ce  que  tu  me  dit,  et  reprenant  Le  colier  ils  se  Separerent, 
un  pour  aller  au  camp  et  L'autre  aller  chez  Luy  depuis 
ce  temps  ils  inquieterent  plus  Les  frangais  pour  prendre 
Les  armes,  il  n'y  eut  que  les  Sauteux,  Les  paux  et  la 
mauvaise  bande  des  hurons  qui  voulaient  force  Les 
frangais  de  frape  sur  eux  plusieurs  fois  comme  Je  le  diray 


X'Ot  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF    A    CONSPIRACY 

The  heads  of  families  replied  to  Pontiac's  council  that 
they  did  not  wish  to  take  up  arms.(^) 

(1)     A  marginal  note  in  French  original. 

When  the  Hurons  of  the  bad  band  who  were  never  of 
any  value  either  to  the  English  or  the  French  knew  that 
Pontiac  had  contented  himself  with  volunteers  and  did  not 
care,  anyhow,  to  urge  the  French  to  begin  hostilities,  they 
leagued  together  with  the  Pottawattamies  and  the  Chippe- 
was  to  force  the  settlers  to  join  them ;  they  threatened  to 
attack  them  if  they  did  not  consent,  and  said  they  would 
lead  away  the  young  men  in  spite  of  their  fathers.  This 
caused  a  great  deal  of  bad  blood  bet\\  een  the  French  and 
the  Indians;  the  French  wished  to  remain  neutral,  but  fear- 
ing that  the  threats  of  the  three  nations  would  be  followed 
by  action  they  seized  their  arms  for  mutual  defense,  kept 
guard,  and  posted  sentries  on  the  highways  for  fear  of 
surprise. 

The  savages  when  they  saw  that  the  French  were  on 
their  guard  did  not  dare  attack  them,  but  took  their  revenge 
on  the  live  stock  w'hich  they  found  scattered  around.  Mr. 
Pierre  Reaume^^  who  lived  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
across  from  the  Fort  and  feared  that  this  storm  might 
chance  to  fall  on  him,  came  to  ask  the  Commandant  for  an 
asylum  in  the  Fort,  and  it  was  granted  him. 

July  4.     Monday. 

Mr.  Pierre  Reaume  who  had  received  permission  the 
night  before  to  retire  into  the  Fort  with  his  whole  family 
brought  over  the  river  in  the  early  dawn  of  the  morning 
his  household  goods  and  animals,  and  went  to  lodge  in  the 
house  of  Mr.  Dequindre**^  which  was  vacant  at  the  time. 
The  Commandant  learned  that  the  Indians  with  some  of 
the  renegades  had  thrown  up  an  intrenchment  in  the  night 
in  the  rear  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Baby  northeast  of  the  Fort 
*  *  *  "^^  *  distant.  Hereupon  he  ordered  Mr.  Hay, 
officer  of  the  Royal-Americans,  to  sally  forth  with  thirty 

^'Pierre  Reaume,  father-in-law  of  Jacques  Baby.  Baby  also  came  into  the 
fort  on  this  day  and  Louis  Campau,  v/ho  came  in  with  a  message  from  Pontiac, 
aiiked  permission  to  remain.  The  commandant  agreed  to  let  the  Frenchmen  in 
if   they    would   bring   provisions   with   them. 

""Louis    Cesair    Dequindre,    colonel    of    militia,    lived    on    St.    Antoine    street    in 


i. 


t"^  %  3 
^  <iii . 


^5  k^i  !-M^r 


'Ill|i^:4i6pi4 


JOURNAL  OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        205 

dans  la  Suite — Reponce  au  Conseil  de  pondiak  par  les 
peres  de  famille  qu'ils  veut  plus  prendre  Les  armes. 

Les  hurons  de  la  Mauvaise  Bande  qui  n'ont  jamais  rien 
vallue  ny  pour  les  anglais,  ny  pour  Le  frangois  Sgachant 
que  pondiak  S'etait  contente  de  volontaires,  alors  ne 
voullait  plus  inquieter  Les  frangois  pour  Les  armes  Se 
debanderent  avec  Les  paux  et  Les  sauteux  pour  contraindre 
Les  habitans  a  prendre  Les  armes  avec  eux  Les  menagant 
de  frapper  sur  Eux  Sy  ils  ny  Consentoient  Et  qu'ils 
emmeneroient  Les  jeunes  gens  frangais  malgre  Les  peres, 
ce  qui  causa  une  grande  revolution  Entre  Les  frangois  et 
ses  Sauvages,  Les  frangais  voullaient  demeure  neutre,  mais 
craignant  que  Les  menaces,  de  ses  trois  nations  ne  fussent 
Suivies  des  effets,  ils  prirent  Les  armes  entre  eux  pour  se 
gardees  et  monterent  La  garde  et  firent  faction  Sur  les 
chemins,  crainte  de  surprise,  ces  Sauvages  voyant  que  Les 
frangais  Se  gardoient  n'oserent  pas  Les  attaque,  se 
vangerent  Sur  Les  animaux  qu'ils  trouverent  ecarte,  Mr. 
piere  reaume  qui  est  etabli  tout  devant  Le  fort  de  I'autre 
coste  de  la  riviere,  craignant  que  cette  orage  ne  vint  a 
tomber  sur  Luy,  vint  demander  a  Mr.  Le  Commandant  a 
Se  retirer  dans  Le  fort  ce  qui  Luy  accorde. 

4e  Juillet. — Lundy  4e  Juillet. — Mr.  Piere  Reaume  qui 
dans  La  nuit  precedente  avait  eu  permission  de  Se  retirer 
dans  le  fort  avec  toute  sa  famille  fit  traverse  a  la  petite 
aurore  du  matin,  Son  menage,  Ses  paquets  et  ses  animaux 
et  vint  Loge  dans  la  maison  de  Mr.  dequindre  qui  pour  lors 
etait  vacante.  Mr.  Le  Commandant  ayant  appris  que  Les 
Sauvages  avec  quelques  gabans  avait  ouvert  un  retran- 
chement  dans  la  nuit  derriere  La  maison  de  Mr.  Baby, 
distance  du  fort  de  *  *  *  *  *  arpent  du  fort  du  coste 
du  nordest,  a  ce  rapport  Mr.  Le  Codt.  ordonna  *  *  * 
pour  comble  L'ouvrage  nocturne  des  Sauvages  et  des 
gabans  que  Mr.  He,  officier  des  troupes  de  royalles 
ameriquain    Sortis  avec  trente    hommes  de  cette    troupe, 

the  village.  He  held  a  military  office  under  the  King  of  France  before  the  con- 
quest and  afterward  under  the  English  regime.  His  wife  was  Marie  Anne 
Picotte  de  Bellestre,  daughter  of  Francois  M.  Picote  de  Bellestre,  last  French 
commandant   of   Detroit. 


'206  JOURNAL   OR    NARRx\TIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

men  to  level  the  nightly  work  of  the  savages  and  vaga- 
bonds. 

As  much  to  reconnoitre  as  to  carry  out  the  Command- 
ant's orders  the  scouting  party  who  were  (not  aware  that) 
the  Indians  were  waiting  in  ambush  advanced  at  double 
quick  toward  the  trench,  just  as  they  were  on  the  point 
of  reaching  it  the  savages  and  renegades  showed  themselves 
and  opened  fire  without  wounding  anybody.  Mr.  Hay 
was  not  disconcerted  but  animated  his  men  by  his  example 
(to  advance  toward)  the  enemy,  and  charged  on  in  the 
face  of  the  fire.  *****  ^hg  victory  remained 
in  doubt.  Hearing  the  firing  the  Commandant  mounted 
the  ramparts  and  after  he  studied  the  situation,  fearful  that 
other  Indians  would  reinforce  their  comrades  and  imperil 
his  scouting  party,  he  quickly  ordered  out  relief  for  Mr. 
Hay.  Capt.  Hopkins  at  the  head  of  forty  troops  and  some 
French  of     *     *     *     *     *     hastened  out  on  the  run. 

The  savages  held  their  ground  against  the  first  comers 
because  they  were  intrenched,  but  with  the  coming  of 
assistance  they  found  themselves  too  weak.  The  renegades 
abandoned  the  breastwork  at  once  and  fled,  and  it  was  only 
the  Indians  who  disputed  the  field  for  some  time  with  the 
English  who  carried  the  place.  When  Mr.  Hopkins  saw 
the  obstinacy  of  the  Indians  he  ordered  a  part  of  his  men 
to  deploy  in  a  circle  in  order  to  take  the  Indians  on  the  flank, 
while  the  rest  occupied  them  in  front.  This  maneuver 
succeeded.  The  Indians  abandoned  their  shelter  and  were 
pursued  so  closely  that  in  the  retreat  tv.o  of  them  were 
killed,  one  of  whom  was  scalped  by  an  Englishman  who 
had  formerly  been  a  prisoner  among  them.  A  soldier  was 
slightly  wounded  by  a  blow  on  the  head  from  the  butt  of 
a  gun  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  Indians  who  was  killed. 
As  this  same  man  killed  the  Indian  he  got  all  of  his  silver 
ornaments  to  pay  for  the  damage.  After  the  Indians  were 
driven  away  the  trench  was  filled  up  and  all  the  fences 
near  by  burned 

When  the  expedition  was  finished  the  whole  troop  re-en- 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        207 

tant  pour  aller  en  decouverte,  tout  aussi  bien  que  pour 
executer  Les  Ordres  de  Mr.  Le  Cdt,  Les  de  Couvreurs 
qui  n'etoient  *  *  *  *  L^g  Sauvages  ^taient  embus- 
que  avanqaient  a  grand  pas  vers  la  tranche,  ils  allaient 
arrive  dedans  Lorsque  Les  Sauvages  et  les  gabans 
Les  decouvrir  et  Les  attaquer  Sans  en  blesse  aucun.  Mr. 
He  sans  perdre  contenance,  anime  par  Son  exemple,  Son 
monde  *****  ^  L'ennemie  et  avec  Son  monde 
fonce  dessus  Le  feu  *****  l^  victore  balan^a, 
Mr.  Le  Cdt.  a  ses  decharge  monte  Sur  Les  ramparts  et 
ayant  examiner  L'action  et  craignant  que  d'autres  Sauvages 
ne  vinrent  se  joindrent  a  leurs  comarade  et  par  consequent 
decouvreurs  Seraient  trop  a  soutenir  Envoy  prompte- 
ment  du  secour  a  Mr.  he,  Mr.  hobquinse,  capitaine  a  la 
teste  de  quarante  hommes  de  troupe  et  quelque  franqais  de 
*****  coururent  a  toute  jambe.  Les  Sauvages 
tenoient  aux  premiers  parce  ce  qu'ils  etaient  retranche, 
mais  Lorque  Le  Se  Cours  vint  ils  se  trouverent  trop  faible 
Les  gabans  abandonner  Les  premiers  Le  retranchement  et 
Se  Sauverent  il  n'y  eiit  que  Les  Sauvages  qui  disputerent 
pendant  quelque  terns  avec  Les  anglais  a  qui  gagneroient 
La  place.  Mr.  hobquince,  voyant  L'obstination  de  sauvage 
fit  faire  un  quart  de  couvessier  par  une  partie  de  son  monde 
pour  prendre  Les  Sauvages  en  flanc,  pendant  que  Les 
autres  Les  amuseroient  par  devant,  cette  manoeuvre 
reussit,  Les  Sauvages  abandonnerent  Leur  retraite.  L'on 
Les  poursuivit  de  pres  et  dans  la  poursuite  il  y  eut  deux 
Sauvage  de  tue  dont  un  eus  la  chevelure  Leve  par  un 
anglais  qui  y  devant  avait  ete  prisonnier  chez  eux,  il  eut 
eu  un  Soldat  de  blesse  Legerement  a  la  teste  d'un  coup  de 
crosse  de  fusil  qu'un  des  Sauvages  qui  avoient  ete  tu6 
lui  donna,  comme  S'etait  le  Soldat  qui  L'avait  tue,  il  eut 
toute  sa  depouille  d'argenterie  pour  Le  dedommage  de 
Sa  blessure  Les  Sauvages  chasse,  L'on  combia  Leurs  tranche 
et  brula  toutes  les  clotiires  des  environs,  apres  cette 
expedition  toute  La  troupe  rentra  dans  le  fort  avec  Les 


208  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

tered  the  Fort  with  the  French  whom  the  Commandant 
called  together  on  the  parade-ground  to  thank  for  the  way 
they  had  seconded  his  men,  and  also  to  inquire  which  ones 
of  them  had  no  arms.  Weapons  were  brought  out  and 
given  to  these,  and  any  who  had  arms  which  were  faulty 
in  any  particular  were  directed  to  carry  them  to  the  royal 
warehouse  where  they  could  be  repaired  at  the  king's 
expense.  And  *  *  *  to  choose  whether  to  volunteer 
or  to  elect  an  officer  to  command  them  as  need  might  be. 
The  French  chose  Mr.  Sterling^ ^'^'  for  their  leader,  and  ac- 
companied by  an  officer  they  all  went  to  his  house  where  the 
judge  notified  him  that  the  French  militia  had  elected  him 
to  command  them  and  how  he  was  appointed  captain.  This 
honest  man  thanked  the  men  for  their  choice  and  said  he 
hoped  there  would  never  be  any  occasion  for  them  to 
regret  it.  They  all  withdrew  well  pleased  and  quite 
resolved  to  do  their  duty  under  the  command  of  such  a 
leader. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  an  officer^ "^  who 
had  commanded  the  fort  at  Sandusky  and  been  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  Indians  escaped  from  their  camp,  or  rather  from 
a  French  farm-house  where  his  (Indian)  wife  had  sent  him 
for  safekeeping.  It  was  learned  from  him  that  the  Indian 
who  had  been  shot  and  scalped  was  a  Chippewa  chief  and 
nephew  of  Wasson,  chief  of  the  Saginaw  Chippewas,  and 
that  Wasson,  enraged  that  his  nephew  had  been  killed  in 
the  skirmish  of  the  morning,  went  to  Pontiac's  camp,  said 
abusive  things  and  demanded  Mr.  Campbell  for  revenge, 
saying:  "My  brother,  I  am  fond  of  this  carrion  flesh 
which  thou  guardest.  I  wish  some  in  my  turn, — give  it 
to  me." 

Fontiac  gave  him  up  and  Wasson  brought  him  to  his 
camp  where  he  had  his  young  men  strip  him  of  his  clothes. 


""James  Sterling  was  a  trader  at  Detroit  who  came  soon  after  the  English 
took  possession  of  that  place.  He  was  one  of  the  most  important  traders  of  the 
time  and  very  influential  among  the  French  as  well  as  the  English.  He  married 
Angelique    Cuillerier    dit    Beaubien,    daughter    of    Antoine. 

^"^This  was  Ensign  Christopher  Paully  (see  note  63).  When  Paully  was  cap- 
tured he  was  threatened  with  being  burned  alive  and  upon  reaching  Pontiac's 
camp   was  treated  as  prisoners  were  usually  treated.     An  old   woman,  whose  hus- 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        209 

frangais  que  Le  Cdt.  fit  assemble  Sur  La  place  d'armes 
pour  Les  remercier  d'avoir  seconde  Sa  troupe  et  S'informa 
de  ceux  qui  n'avoient  point  d'armes  et  en  fit  apporte  pour 
Les  armes  et  ordonna  que  ceux  qui  avaient  des  armes  dont 
il  pouvaient  manque  quelque  chose  de  les  porter  chez  les 
magazins  du  Roy,  pour  les  faire  racommode  aux  depens 
du  roy  et  *****  de  choisir  ou  d'estre  volontaire 
ou  d'avoir  un  officier  a  leur  choix  pour  Les  Commander 
aux  Besoins,  Les  frangais  choisirent  Mr.  Sterling  par  una 
election  pour  Leurs  officiers  et  furent  tous  ensemble  avec 
un  officier  a  sa  Maison  avec  Mr.  Le  Juge  qui  Le  prevint 
du  choix  que  La  milice  frangaise  Luy  pour  Estre  a  leurs 
teste  et  en  meme  tems  I'avait  choisi  aussi  pour  etre 
Capitaine  de  Milice,  cet  honneste  homme  remercia  ces 
Messieurs  de  Leurs  choix  et  Leurs  dit  qu'il  esperait  que 
dans  L'occasion  ils  n'auraient  pas  Lieu  d'  estre  mecontent 
de  leurs  choix  et  chacun  se  retira  Bien  Content  et  Bien 
resolu  de  faire  Leurs  devoirs  Sous  le  Commandemant  d'un 
tel  chef. 

Sur  Les  quatre  heures  apres  midy  un  officier,  qui  avait 
commande  le  fort  de  San  Dosquee  et  pris  prisonnier  par 
les  Sauvages  Se  Sauva  du  camp,  ou  plustot  d'une  maison 
frangaise  oii  Sa  femme  I'avait  envoye  et  I'avait  mis  pour 
le  cacher,  L'on  Sgue  de  luy  que  Le  sauvage  qui  avait  ete 
tue  et  La  chevelure  Leve  etait  chef  sauteux  et  neveu  de 
ousson,  chef  des  Sauteux  du  Saguinaw  et  que  ce  ousson, 
furieux,  enrage  que  son  neveu  avait  ete  tue  dans  Taction 
du  matin  fut  au  camp  de  pondiak  a  qui  il  dit  des  sotises 
et  lui  demanda  Mr.  Cambel,  en  revenge  et  il  lui  dit:  Mon 
frere  J'aime  Bien  cette  mauvaise  viande  que  tu  en  prends 
soin,  Je  veux  L' avoir  a  mon  tour,  donne  moy  La,  pondiak 
Le  lui  donna,  que  ousson  emmena  a  son  camp  oil  il  Le  fit 
depouille  de  ses  habits  par  ses  jeunes  gens  et  apres  Le 


band  had  died,  chose  to  adopt  him  in  place  of  the  warrior,  which  alternative 
he  accepted,  thus  saving  his  life.  Another  account  says  that  he  was  aided  in 
his  escape  by  a  handsome  young  squaw  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  him.  He  was 
dressed  and  painted  so  like  an  Indian  and  his  hair  cut,  that  no  one  knew  him 
when  he  was  brought  in.  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac;  Diary  of  the  Siege 
of  Detroit. 


210  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

Then  he  killed  him  with  a  blow  of  his  tomahawk,  and 
afterwards  cast  him  into  the  river;  the  body  floated  down- 
stream to  the  place  where  the  Frenchmen  had  taken  him 
when  he  left  the  Fort, — in  front  of  Mr.  Cullerier's  house, 
and  here  it  was  buried^ "^. 

Around  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  powder  and  balls  were 
delivered  at  Mr.  Sterling's  house  for  the  needs  of  the 
French  militia. 

July  5.     Tuesday. 

The  Indians  did  not  disturb  the  Fort  at  all.  They  visited 
the  settlers  and  took  the  axes  and  pickaxes  which  they 
could  get  hold  of  and  carried  them  to  the  blacksmiths  to 
have  them  sharpened.  The  smiths  refused  to  work  for 
them  saying  their  forges  were  in  the  Fort. 

The  same  day  the  leader  of  the  renegades,  now  living 
with  the  Indians,  undertook  to  enlist  the  services  of  the 
sons  of  the  settlers  to  help  him  capture  or  burn  one  of  the 
sloops.  To  this  end  he  visited  some  of  the  settlers  where 
he  knew  there  were  young  men  to  try  to  enroll  them  in 
his  gang.  But  it  was  known  that  his  plan  had  miscarried 
and  he  resolved  to  abandon  it.  In  order  to  escape  (the 
renegade  fled)  to  the  Illinois  country,  for  many  of  the 
settlers  threatened  to  hand  him  over  to  the  Commandant 
who  would  not  have  been  slow  in  rewarding  him  accord- 
ing to  his  just  deserts. 

July  6.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  for  some  days  had  cherished  the  idea  of 
burning  the  big  r.loop  which  guarded  the  highway  and 
hindered  them  from  approaching  the  Fort  from  that  side; 
they  did  not  know  how  to  go  about  it  and  visited  several 
French  settlers  to  inquire  in  what  way  they  could  do  it. 
In  order  to  get  rid  of  them  and  be  let  alone,  the  only 
reply  the  settlers  made  was  that  they  did  not  know  how  to 
undertake  the  matter. 


'"-The  Gcntle'ritafi's  Mcgasine  176^,  p.  45^1,  gives  a  graphic  description  of  this 
murder.  Capt  Campbell  was  butchered  in  revenue  of  one  of  the  sachem's  sons 
who  was  killed  in  a  skirmish  at  Detroit;  they  gave  him  time  to  pray,  kneeling 
on  the  bodv  of  the  deceased  chief,  then  killed  h-m.  taking  hi?  heart  and  eating 
it  reeking  hot  and  cuttinpr  his  body  to  pieces  with  tomahawks."  Rutherford,  in 
his  narrative,  says  that  the_  killing  of  Campbell  by  the  Chippewas  so  enraged 
the  Ottawas  that  they  determined  to  have  satisfaction  for  this  outrage  and  pitched 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'unE    CONSPIRATION        211 

Massacrerent  a  coup  de  casteste  et  apres  L'avoir  tue,  ils 
Le  jetterent  a  la  riviere  et  le  corps  deriva  j usque  vers 
I'endroit  ou  Les  frangois  L'avait  mene  quand  il  sortis  du 
fort  devant  la  Maison  de  Mr.  Cullierrie,  ou  il  fut  entere. 
Sur  Les  Six  lieures  du  soir,  il  fut  delivre,  chez  Mr.  Ster- 
ling a  la  milice  franqaise,  dc  la  poudre  et  des  balles  pour 
servir  aux  Besoins. 

5e  Juillet. — Le  Mardy  5e  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages 
n'inquieterent  point  Le  fort  ils  furent  chez  Les  habitans 
et  prirent  des  baches  et  des  pioches  qu'ils  attrapperent  et 
Les  porterent  a  des  forgeons  pour  Les  faire  raccommode, 
Les  forgerons  refuserent  de  travailler  pour  eux,  disant 
que  Leurs  forge  etoient  dans  Le  fort,  ce  mesme  jour  Le 
chef  des  gabans  qui  etaient  avec  Les  Sauvages  entrepris 
d'engage  dans  son  partis  Les  enfants  domiciles  habitant 
pour  lui  aide  a  prendre  ou  brule  une  des  barques,  pour 
cette  effet,  il  fut  chez  une  partie  des  habitants  ou  il  sgavait 
qu'il  y  avait  des  jeunes  gens  pour  Les  enrolle  avec  Luy  mais 
il  fut  Sgu  que  Son  dessein  echoua  et  se  resolue  d'aban- 
donner.  Le  *  *  *  *  *  pour  Se  Sauve  aux  Illinois 
parce  que  beaucoup  d'habitans  Le  nienacerent  de  le  prendre 
et  de  le  livre  a  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  qui  n'aurait  pas  manque  de  Le 
recompenser  Selon  Son  Merite. 

6e  Juillet. — Mercredy,  Juillet  6e. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
depuis  quelques  jours  avoient  forme  I'idee  de  brule  La 
grosse  Barque  qui  Leurs  nuisoient  Le  long  du  grand  chemin 
et  leurs  empechoient  de  venir  approche  du  fort  par  cette 
route  et  ne  sachant  Comment  Sy  prendre  ils  furent 
demander  chez  plusieurs  frangais  comment  et  de  quel  fagon 
ils  falloit  qu'ils  S'y  prissent,  ils  eurent  pour  tout  bonne 
reponse  des  habitants  qu'ils  ne  Scavoient  pas  Comment  il 
falait  faire  pour  qu'ils  fussent  tranquille  et  de  Se 
debarrasse  deux. 


upon  Ensign  Paully  as  the  means  of  compensating  their  loss.  He,  however,  was 
informed  of  his  danger  by  a  handsome  squaw  who  fel!  in  love  with  him  and 
assisted  him  to  escape.  When  the  Ottawas  found  that  Paully  had  escaped,  they 
set  upon  Rutherford  as  being  next  in  rank  and  superior  to  any  of  the  other 
prisoners,  hut  his  master  or  newly  adopted  father  "Perwash"  (a  Chippewa)  hid 
him  safely  and  after  the  excitement  had  subsided,  took  him  away.  On  his  way 
he  passed  the  body  of  the  slain  Campbell,  mantrled,  scalped  and  being  devoured 
by  the  dogs. 


212  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

July  7.     Thursday. 

The  Indians  were  quiet  enough  as  far  as  the  Fort  was 
concerned  for  the  Commandant  and  his  officers  gave  them 
something  to  do  in  their  camp.  This  was  the  way  of  it: 
Early  in  the  morning  there  arose  a  slight  wind  from  the 
southeast  which  appeared  to  favor  the  English  in  their 
design  to  pay  Pontiac  a  visit  in  his  camp  with  the  big 
sloop.  As  they  were  getting  under  way  the  wind  fell  and 
they  anchored  until  it  should  become  more  favorable.  The 
wind  was  not  long  in  rising;  by  eleven  o'clock  it  had 
increased  and  grown  strong  enough  for  them  to  weigh 
anchor  a  second  time,  and  now  not  uselessly.  They 
ascended  the  river  to  a  point  in  front  of  Pontiac's  camp 
where  they  anchored  and  lavishly  saluted  his  village  with 
cannon  balls  and  grenades. 

Neither  Pontiac  nor  his  people  were  expecting  such  a 
visit,  but  they  were  able  to  save  themselves  by  flight, 
abandoning  their  cabins  and  belongings  which  were 
knocked  over  by  the  balls  and  shells.  This  pastime  lasted 
from  noon  till  *  *  *  The  sloop  remained  at  anchor 
till  four  o'clock  when  she  returned  to  where  she  came  from. 
With  all  this  destruction  not  a  savage  was  wounded. 

During  the  time  that  a  part  of  the  English  were  visiting 
Pontiac's  camp  with  terror,  the  Pottawattamies  came  with 
Mr.  Gammelin  for  the  purpose  of  making  peace  with  the 
Commandant;  their  request  was  granted  on  condition  that 
they  would  remain  neutral  and  surrender  their  prisoners, — 
a  promise  they  made  but  did  not  keep. 

The  same  day  both  the  Huron  bands  held  a  council 
between  themselves  with  the  object  of  coming  to  the  Fort 
to  make  peace  with  the  Commandant^  "^. 

July  8.     Friday. 

The  Commandant  who  had  a  plan  to  send  the  sloop  to 
Niagara  ordered  that  she  be  ballasted  by  demolishing  an 
old  building  which  formerly  served  as  a  powder  magazine 

**'In  Schoolcraft's  translation  there  is  a  marginal  note  which  is  now  missing 
from  the  original,  "*  *  *  Indians,  having  seen  that  *  *  *  in  the  camp, 
Mr.    *   *   *  their  prisoners,   escaping   *    »   »   Mr.   Marsac." 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        213 

7e  Juillet. — Jeudi  7  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages  furent  assez 
tranquille  pour  Le  fort  Mr.  Le  Commandant  and  les 
officiers  leur  donnerent  de  I'occupation  dans  Leurs  camp, 
voyez  comment  *****  du  matin,  il  se  leva  un 
petit  vent  de  Soroais,  qui  paroissait  favoriser  Ses  Mrs. 
dans  le  dessein  qu'ils  avaient  d'aller  rendre  visite  a  pondiak 
dans  son  Camp  avec  La  grosse  Barque,  Comme  ils 
appareillaient  la  barque  pour  se  mettre  en  route  Le  vent 
mollis  et  ils  jetterent  L'ancre  pour  attendre  que  le  vent 
devint  plus  favorable,  qui  ne  fut  pas  Longtemps  sans 
Lever.  A  onze  heures  ayant  augmente  et  etant  devenu 
fort  ils  leverent  l'ancre  pour  La  seconde  fois,  mais  pas 
inutilement  et  ils  resterent  dans  La  riviere  vis  a  vis  Le 
Camp  de  pondiak  ou  ils  jeterent  Tancre  et  ils  Saluerent. 

(remarques  en  marge.) 
*****  Le  camp  a  boulet  et  grenades  Sans  epargnes 
Pondiak   qui  ne   S'attendait  ni  Luy  n'y  Ses  gens  a  une 

pareille  visite  Su  se  sauve  du  camp,  abandonnant 

cabane  et  butin,  qui  fut  culbute  par  les  boulets  et  par  les 
bombes,  ce  divertissement  dura  depuis  midy  *  *  *  La 
barque  mouilla  jusqu'a  quatre,  qu'elle  revint  d'ou  elle 
avait  partis,  dans  tons  ce  degas  il  n'y  eu  aucun  Sauvage  de 
Blesse,  Pendant  Le  tems  qu'une  partie  de  ses  Mrs.  etaient 
a  donne  L'epouvante  au  Camp  de  Pondiak,  Les  poux 
vinrent  avec  Mr.  Gommelin  pour  demander  a  faire  La 
paix  avec  Mr.  Le  Commandant,  ce  qui  Leurs  fut  accorde 
a  Condition  qu'ils  demeureroient  neutre  et  qu'ils  rendroient 
Les  prisonniers,  ce  qu'ils  promirent  et  ne  tinrent  point. 
Le  mesme  jour  Les  deux  bandes  de  hurons  tinrent  conseil 
entre  eux  pour  venir  au  fort  faire  La  paix  avec  Mr.  Le 
Cdt. 

8  Juillet. — Vendredi  Le  8  Juillet. — Mr.  Le  Cdt.  qui  avait 
dessein  de  renvoye  La  Barque  a  Niagara  ordonna  que 
pour  La  Leste,  il  fut  demolly  une  vielle  mazure  qui  cy 
devant  Servait  de  poudriere  pour  en  avoir  La  pierre  pour 
Servir  de  charge  a  la  barque,  ce  qui  fut  execute  dans  La 


214     JOURNAL  OR  NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

to  get  stone  to  load  her  with.    This  was  done  in  the  course 
of  the  morning  by  the  French  and  the  soldiers. 

Toward  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Hurons  came 
to  treat  with  the  Commandant  in  accordance  with  the 
council  they  had  held  in  their  village  the  night  before.  At 
the  Commandant's  order  the  gate  was  opened  for  them 
and  they  were  admitted  into  the  Fort;  they  held  a  council 
on  the  drill-ground  and  asked  for  an  opportunity  to  make 
peace  with  the  English.  They  were  told  that  if  they 
would  return  all  the  prisoners  and  merchandise  in  their 
lodges,  all  their  errors  would  be  pardoned  and  the  past 
forgotten.  They  said  they  wished  to  return  to  their  village 
and  make  the  same  announcement  to  their  brothers  and 
get  them  to  consent;  they  then  withdrew  willing  to  do  all 
that  was  required. 

About  five  o'clock  the  Pottawattamies  returned  with  Mr. 
Gammelin  and  promised  to  give  up  the  English  prisoners 
who  had  been  in  their  village  for  several  days  in  exchange 
for  their  comrades  who  were  held  here. 

Around  six  o'clock  the  Ottawas  took  up  a  position  in 
ambush  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Beaubien's^*'^  house,  and  for  an 
hour  fired  upon  the  big  sloop  which  replied  with  several 
volleys  without  harming  them  in  the  least. 

This  same  day  Mr.  Maisonville^^^  arrived  with  a  cargo 
of  brandy,  lead,  salt,  and  bales,  and  reached     *     *     * 
with  great  difficulty. 

July  9.     Saturday. 

The  Ottawas  and  the  Chippewas  formed  a  scheme  to 
burn  the  sloops  at  anchor  if  they  could.  To  accomplish 
their  purpose  they  set  to  work  to  make  a  fire-raft  which 
they  intended,  when  all  was  ready,  to  send  down  the  river 
with  the  current  to  the  vicinity  of  the  big  sloop.  This 
task  kept  them  busy  two  days,  during  which  time  the  Fort 
was  not  annoyed. 

The  Hurons,  as  they  had  promised  the  day  before,  came 

'"^Cuillerier    dit   Beaubien. 

^°'^Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit,  June  8th,  records  that  Several  of  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants  brought  in  their  goods  on  the  7th  and  Sth.     Maisonville  was  among 


JOURNAL   OU    DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        215 

matinee  par  Les  francais  et  Les  Soldats  anglais  de  La 
matinee. 

Sur  les  deux  heures  apres  midy  Les  hurons  vinrent  pour 
traiter  avec  Mr.  Le  Commandant  Suivant  Le  Conseil  qu'ils 
avaient  tenu  la  veille  a  Leurs  Villages.  Mr.  Le  Com- 
mandant Leurs  fit  ouvrir  La  porte  et  ils  Les  admit  dans 
Lefort  et  tinrent  Conseil  sur  La  place  d'armes  ou  ils 
demanderent  a  faire  La  paix  avec  ses  Mrs.,  il  leur  fut 
repondii.  *****  q^^  ^'{{^  voulaient  rendre  tous 
les  prisonniers  et  les  merchandises  et  reste  tranquille  sur 
Leurs  natte  que  tout  Leur  sotisses  seraient  pardonne  et 
que  Lepasse  serait  oublie,  ils  repondirent  qu'ils  voulaient 
retourner  a  Leurs  village  pour  parle  a  Leurs  freres,  de  la 
mesme  maniere  et  de  Les  faire  consentir  et  ils  se  retirerent 
resoud  a  tout  ce  que  Ton  exigeaient  deux,  promettant  de 
venir  Le  Landemain. 

Sur  les  cinq  heures  Les  poux  vinrent  avec  Mr.  Gommelin 
pour  retourner  et  pour  promettre  Les  prisonniers  anglais 
qui  etaient  dans  Leurs  villages  depuis  plusieurs  jours  dans 
davoir  Leurs  comarades  qui  etait  retenus  la. 

Sur  les  Six  heures,  Les  Outaouis  vinrent  S'embusquer 
en  arriere  de  la  maison  de  Mr.  Beaubien  et  ont  tire  I'espace 
d'un  heure  sur  La  grosse  Barque  qui  Leur  a  envoye 
plusieurs  coups  de  fusil  sans  leurs  faire  Le  moindre  tord. 
Ce  mesme  jour  Mr.  Maisonville  est  arrive  avec  une  charge, 
d'eau  de  vie,  de  plomb,  de  fusil  et  de  paquets  et  est  venue 
*****     SiY^Q  Bien  de  la  peine. 

9e  Juillet. — Le  Samedi  9e  Juillet. — Les  Outaouais  et 
les  Sauteux  formerent  le  dessein  de  bruler  Les  barques  a 
I'ancre  S'ils  le  pouvaient,  pour  y  reussir,  ils  se  mettent  a 
faire  un  cajeux  pour  envoyer  Sur  la  riviere  a  la  drive 
aux  environs  ou  etait  la  grosse  barque  quand  il  serait  fait, 
Cet  ouvrage  Les  occupa  deux  jours,  pendant  ce  temps 
Le  fort  ne  fut  point  inquiete.  Sur  Les  quatre  heures  Les 
hurons  re  vinrent  Comme  ils  L'avoient  promis  La  journee 

the  number  and  brought  in  five  perigtias  loaded  with  10,000  weight  of  lead  and 
peltry.  He  was  a  trader  and  was  at  Ouiatanon  when  it  was  taken.  He  was  of 
great  assistance  in  protecting  the  lives  of  the  English  garrison. 


216  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

about  four  o'clock  bringing  with  them  seven  prisoners, — 
five  men,  one  of  whom  was  the  commandant^ "^^  of  Pres- 
qu'Isle,  a  woman,  and  a  child;  they  handed  these  over  to 
the  Commandant  and  asked  to  make  peace.  They  were 
told  in  reply  that  they  must  return  all  the  merchandise 
which  they  had  taken  from  the  traders,  even  to  a  needle, 
and  then  terms  of  peace  would  be  granted  them.  They 
withdrew  promising  to  restore  all  the  merchandise  they 
had  in  their  village. 

Toward  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  Commandant 
was  warned  that  the  savages  would  fire  the  Fort  by  means 
of  arrows,  and  that  they  had  made  a  fire-raft  out  of  boats 
with  which  to  set  fire  to  the  two  sloops  in  the  course  of 
the  night.  It  was  true  that  they  were  working  upon  a  plan 
to  burn  the  sloops,  but  it  did  not  succeed. 

July  10.     Sunday. 

The  Indians  who  had  worked  for  two  days  to  set  fire 
to  the  vessels,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  sent  down 
their  work  which  was  two  boats  bound  together  with  ropes 
and  filled  with  kindling  of  dry  wood  and  (birch  bark). 
The  whole  thing  burst  into  flame  and  came  floating  down 
the  river,  passing  two  hundred  feet  from  the  sloops  with- 
out doing  them  any  harm  at  all.  When  the  Indians  saw 
that  their  time  was  lost  v/ith  the  useless  work  they  set 
about  another  fire-boat  and  left  the  Fort  in  peace  the 
whole  day. 

About  seven  in  the  evening  the  Commandant  was  warned 
by  the  French  from  outside  that  the  Indians  were  surely 
going  to  set  fire  to  the  Fort  under  cover  of  the  night. 
However  this  might  be,  he  put  no  credence  in  it  for  gener- 
ally these  news-bearers  were  liars  who  invented  many 
things  or  told  some  lie  or  other  for  sake  of  the  welcome, 
and  then  came  and  troubled  the  officers  who  frequently 
laughed  at  them  for  their  pains.  Still,  as  it  frequently 
happens  that  some  truth  is  concealed  among  a  tissue  of 
stories  and  lies,  the  Commandant  gave  orders  that   four 

ii^Ensign   John    Christie. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        317 

precedente  et  ammenerent  avec  eux  sept  prisonniers,  cinq 
hommes  dent  Le  Commandant  de  la  presquisle  etait  du 
nombre,  une  femme  et  un  enfant  qu'ils  rendirent  a  Mr. 
Le  Commandant  et  demanderent  La  paix,  il  Leur  fut 
repondu  qu'il  faloit  qu'ils  rendent  toutes  Les  marchandises 
qu'ils  avaient  pris  aux  marchands  jusqu'a  une  aiguille  de 
fil  et  que  apres  La  paix  leur  serait  accordee,  ils  se  retirerent 
promettant  d'apporte  tout  Les  marchandises  qu'ils  avaient 
dans  Leurs  villages. 

Sur  les  Sept  heurs  du  soir  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  fut  averti  que 
Les  Sauvages  voullaient  mettre  Le  feu  au  fort  avec  des 
fleches  et  qu'ils  avaient  fait  un  Cajeu  avec  des  bateaux 
pour  mettre  Le  feu  aux  deux  Barques  dans  le  Courans  de 
la  nuit,  il  est  vray  qu'ils  travaillerent  bien  a  dessein  de 
faire  Bruler  Les  Barques,  mais  ils  n'ont  pas  reussis. 

lOe  Juillet. — Le  dimanche  lOe  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages 
qui  avoient  travaille  Les  deux  jours  precedent  pour 
L'incendie  des  deux  Basques,  envoyerent  Sur  les  deux 
heures  du  matin  Leurs  ouvrage  qui  etait  deux  Bateaux 
Liees  avec  de  grosses  cordes  blanc  remplis  de  bois  sec 
fendue  par  eclat  avec  des  *  *  *  *  l^  ^q^^  pj.jg  gj^ 
feu  et  vint  derive  Sur  la  riviere  et  passa  a  un  arpent  des 
barques  Sans  leur  faire  Le  moindre  mal.  L'ouvrage  des 
sauvages  devint  inutille,  Leurs  temps  etait  perdue,  ce  que 
voyant  Les  Sauvages  travaillerent  a  un  autre  cajeux  et 
ne  vinrent  point  de  La  journee  inquieter  Le  fort. 

Sur  les  sept  heures  du  soir  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  fut  averti  par 
des  frangais  de  dehors  que  Les  Sauvages  devoient  Sure- 
ment  mettre  Le  feu  au  fort,  dans  la  nuit  a  la  faveur  de 
L'obscurite,  ce  que  peut  estre  il  ne  mit  aucune  croyance 
car  La  pluspart  du  tems  ces  nouvellistes  etaient  des 
menteurs  qui  pour  Se  faire  bien  venir,  Souvent  supposoient 
bien  des  choses  et  faisait  quelque  mensonge  et  en  venaient 
faire  qui  troublait.  Ses  Mrs.  qui  pour  Les  remercie 
Souvent  se  moquoient  deux,  neantmoins  comme  il  arrive 
quelquefois  que  parmis  toutes  ces  choses,  et  de  mensonge 
il  se  trouve  quelque  verite,  a  cette  nouvelle  Mr.  Le  Cdt. 


218  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A  CONSPIRACY 

Frenchmen  and  four  soldiers  be  posted  at  once  in  bivouac 
a  couple  hundred  feet  beyond  the  four  corners  of  the 
Fort,  with  orders  to  fire  if  they  saw  anything  and  then 
fall  back  upon  the  Fort. 

July  11.     Monday. 

The  savages  who  were  occupied  with  a  second  enter- 
prise about  like  the  first  did  not  come  to  fire  on  the  Fort 
the  whole  day. 

Toward  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Hurons  came 
to  fulfill  their  promise  and  brought  all  the  merchandise 
which  had  been  plundered  from  the  traders  upon  the  lake 
and  on  the  river,  and  peace  was  concluded  between  them 
and  the  English. 

About  six  a  Frenchman  from  without  the  Fort  came 
to  warn  the  Commandant  that  the  savages  had  the  second 
fire-boat  ready  and  that  they  would  set  it  afloat  in  the 
night;  which  was  done. 

July  12.     Tuesday. 

One  hour  after  midnight  the  Indians  sent  off  their  sec- 
ond raft  with  as  much  success  as  the  first  one.  Two  cannon 
shots  were  fired  from  the  Fort  toward  the  highway  lead- 
ing off  to  the  southwest  which  scattered  the  savages  who 
were  seated  on  the  edge  of  the  river  to  admire  the  effect 
of  their  work.  The  sloop  fired  two  cannon  shots  at  the 
raft  and  broke  it  to  pieces,  and  rendered  the  labor  of  the 
natives  useless. 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Pottawattamies 
came  in  accordance  with  their  arrangement  to  fetch  three 
English  prisoners  and  make  peace,  which  was  granted 
them.  They  then  demanded  their  man.  The  Commandant 
told  them  that  when  they  had  returned  all  the  prisoners 
which  they  had  in  their  village  they  would  get  the  man 
they  wanted  and  everything  would  be  settled.  They  put 
off  till  three  the  settling  of  what  was  asked  of  them. 
Toward  three  in  the  afternoon  the  sloop  which  had  come 
from  Niagara  set  out  on  her  return,  with  orders  to  bring 
back  provisions  and  reinforcements. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    D'uNE   CONSPIRATION        219 

ordonna  qu'il  fut  Commande  Sur  Le  champ  quatre  frangais 
et  qnatre  Soldats  pour  aller  en  bivouac  a  un  arpent  en 
dehors  du  fort  au  quatre  coins,  avec  ordre  de  tirer  s'il 
voyait  quelque  chose  et  de  Se  retirer  Sous  le  fort  apres 
avoir  Lache  Leurs  Coups. 

lie  Juillet. — Lund}'^  lie  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages  qui 
etoient  occupe  a  un  Second  entreprise  a  peu  pres  pareille 
aux  premier  ne  vinrent  point  tire  Sur  Lefort  de  la  journee. 

Sur  les  dix  heures  du  matin,  Les  hurons  vinrent 
S'acquiter  de  leurs  promesse  rapportant  toutes  Les 
marchandises  qui  avaient  ete  prises  aux  marchands  sur  Le 
Lac  et  dans  La  riviere  et  La  paix  furent  conclus  entre 
eux  et  ces  Airs. 

Sur  les  Six  heures  un  frangois  de  dehors  du  fort  vint 
avertir  Mr.  Le  Cdt,  que  le  deuxieme  cajeu  des  Sauvages 
etait  fait  et  qu'ils  devaient  L'envoye  dans  La  nuit,  ce  qui 
fut  aussi. 

12e  Juillet. — Le  Mardy  12e  Juillet. — A  un  heure  apres 
minuit  Les  Sauvages  envoyerent  Le  deuxieme  cajeu  avec 
autant  de  reussitte  que  le  premier,  il  fut  tire  deux  coups 
de  canon  du  fort  Sur  le  chemin  des  Coste  du  Sorouais 
qui  mis  en  fuitte  Les  Sauvages  qui  etaient  assis  Sur  le 
bord  de  la  riviere  pour  admirer  L'effet  que  ferait  Leurs 
ouvrages,  La  barque  tira  deux  coups  de  canon  Sur  le  cajeu 
qui  le  rompit  et  rendit  I'ouvrage  des  sauvages  inutille. 

Sur  les  dix  heures  du  matin  Les  paux  vinrent  suivant 
leurs  arrangements  ammener  trois  anglais  qu'ils  avaient 
prisonnier  pour  avoir  la  paix,  qui  Leur  fut  accorde,  ils 
demanderent  Leurs  hommes,  Mr.  Le  Commandant  leur  dit 
que  quand  ils  auroient  rendue  tous  les  prisonniers  qu'ils 
avoient  dans  Leurs  villages  on  Leurs  rendraient  Celui  qu'ils 
demandoient  et  que  tout  seroient  conclues,  ils  remirent  a 
L'apres  midy  a  conclure  ce  qu'on  Leurs  demandoient,  vers 
Les  trois  heures  apres  midy  la  barque  venue  de  niagara 
partie  pour  y  retourner  avec  ordre  d'amener  des  vivres  et 
du  monde. 


220  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

About  the  same  time  the  Pottawattamies  returned  as 
they  had  promised  in  the  morning  with  seven  prisoners 
whom  they  surrendered  to  the  Commandant,  at  the  same 
time  asking  for  their  comrade.  As  he  was  about  to 
hand  him  over  a  man  named  Jacqueman"^,  one  of  the 
Pottawattamies'  recent  prisoners  who  had  been  given  to 
them  for  a  present,  said  to  the  Commandant  in  English 
that  they  had  still  other  prisoners  in  their  village.  This 
led  the  Commandant  to  change  his  mind  and  hold  back 
the  prisoner,  telling  the  Pottawattamies  to  bring  all  the 
prisoners  they  had  and  their  request  would  be  granted. 
This  did  not  please  them  much,  and  with  an  interchange 
of  glances  they  formed  the  plan  at  the  risk  of  destruction 
to  fall  upon  the  Commandant  and  the  officers  who  were 
with  them  and  kill  them.  The  thing  that  arrested  the 
deed  was  this:  an  Ottawa  Indian  who  entered  the  Fort 
with  the  others  and  had  been  recognized  by  Mr.  Mac- 
Dougal  for  an  Ottawa  was  arrested  and  locked  up  under 
a  heavy  guard.  Although  displeased  not  to  obtain  their 
demands,  this  frightened  the  Pottawattamies  and  they 
withdrew  with  the  determination  to  wreak  vengeance  in 
the  coming  night. 

July  13.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  who  had  learned  some  days  before  that 
guards  had  been  posted  outside  the  Fort  to  surprise  them 
if  they  came  near  the  Fort  in  the  night  resolved  to  be 
revenged  for  the  refusal  they  had  received  the  day  pre- 
ceding. To  this  end,  they  came  in  the  night  to  spy  out  the 
sentinels  who  were  ordered  to  fire  at  whatever  they  saw; 
the  Indians  discovered  and  fired  upon  them  and  danger- 
ously wounded  a  Frenchman  who  was  posted  on  the  south- 
west side.  The  rest  of  the  day  passed  quietly  enough 
around  the  Fort. 

The  same  day  in  the  afternoon  the  Hurons  asked  for  a 
secret  council.     There  was  a  young  woman  who  wanted 


w'This  was  evidently  Chapman  (see  note  46).  On  this  day  Crawford  and 
Chapman,  both  traders,  one  of  Hopkin's  men,  four  Royal  Americans,  two  Rangers 
and  one  of  Crawford's  men  were  brought  to  the  fort  and  given  up. 


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JOURNAL    OU    DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        221 

Vers  le  meme  terns  Les  paux  revinrent  comme  ils  avoient 
promis  Le  matin  et  emmener  avec  eux  sept  prisonniers 
qu'ils  donnerent  aux  Cdt.  en  Luy  demandant  Leurs 
Camarade,  comme  il  etait  pour  Leurs  delivre,  un  nomme 
Jacqueman  cy  devant  prisonnier  et  qui  leur  avait  ete  donne 
en  present  aux  paux  qui  venaient  de  le  rendre  et  il  dit  en 
anglais  au  Cdt.  que  Les  paux  avaient  encore  des  prisonniers 
dans  Leurs  villages,  ce  qui  fut  cause  que  le  Cdt.  changea 
de  ton  et  d'idees  et  retin  son  prisonnier  fesant  dire  aux 
paux  de  ramener  tous  les  prisonniers  qu'ils  avaient  et 
qu'on  Leurs  accorderoient  ce  qu'ils  demandaient  ***** 
cela  ne  Les  rendis  pas  beaucoup  contents  qui  Se  regarderent 
et  ils  formerent  Le  dessein  au  risque  de  perir  de  fraper 
Sur  Le  Commandant  et  Les  officiers  qui  L'accompagnait, 
ce  qui  arreta  Le  coup  ce  fut  qu'un  Sauvage  Outaouais  qui 
etait  entre  dans  Le  fort  avec  eux  qui  ayantete  reconnus 
par  Mr.  Magdougal  pour  outaouis  fut  arreste  et  mis  en 
prison  sous  bonne  garde,  cela  donna  La  peur  aux  paux 
qui  quoique  mecontent  de  ny  pas  avoir  ce  qu'ils  deman- 
doient  Se  retirerent  avec  resolution  de  se  vanger  dans  la 
nuit  precedente. 

13e  Juillet. — Le  Mercredy  13  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages 
qui  avaient  Sgu  quelque  jours  auparavant  que  Ton  mettait 
des  factionnaires  dehors  du  fort  pour  Les  surprendre 
quand  ils  viendroient  La  nuit  aupres  du  fort  resollurent 
de  Se  vange  du  refus  qu'ils  leur  avaient  ete  fait  Le  jour 
precedent,  pour  cela  ils  vinrent  dans  La  nuit  pour  decouvrir 
Les  factionnaires :  qui  avaient  ordre  de  tire  Sur  ce  qu'il 
verraient,  ils  Les  decouvrirent  et  tirerent  dessus  et  bles- 
serent  dangereusement  un  frangais,  qui  etoient  en  Sentinel 
du  cote  du  Sorouais.  Le  reste  de  la  journee  Se  passa  assez 
paisiblement  du  coste  du  fort. 

Ce  meme  jour  apres  midy  Les  hurons  demanderent  un 
Conseil  Secret,  il  y  fut  une  demoiselle  qui  voullu  y  etre 


222  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

to  be  present,  but  at  the  request  of  the  Indians  she  was 
asked  to  remain  away. 

July  14.     Thursday. 

The  Frenchman^ '^^  who  had  been  wounded  Wednesday 
morning  died  of  his  wounds  about  the  same  time  of  night 
as  when  he  was  wounded;  he  was  buried  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible so  that  nobody  outside  the  Fort  might  know  that 
he  had  been  killed,  but  in  spite  of  the  precautions  which 
were  taken  to  conceal  his  death  it  was  known  by  both  the 
French  and  the  Indians. 

July  15.     Friday. 

Nothing  of  any  importance  happened. 

July  16.     Saturday. 

A  slave  belonging  to  Mr.  Beaubien  came  into  the  Fort, 
having  been  sent  by  his  master  to  reclaim  some  live  stock 
which  had  been  frightened  by  the  Indians  and  had  wan- 
dered to  the  Fort.  The  slave  was  arrested  and  imprisoned 
because,  according  to  rumor,  he  had  been  with  the  Indians 
firing  on  the  English  and  upon  the  sloop. 

July  17.     Sunday, 

Several  people  who  knew  perfectly  well  that  this  slave 
was  a  respectable  man  and  who  had  known  about  his  con- 
duct at  the  commencement  of  this  affair  came  to  the  Fort 
to  vouch  for  the  Pawnee  and  secure  his  discharge,  but 
pardon  was  refused  him  till  further  evidence  from  other 
witnesses. 

About  *  *  o'clock  in  the  evening  Mr.  Gammelin  came 
to  the  Fort  with  two  men,  and  reported  that  the  Indians 
planned  to  attack  the  French  settlers  in  the  surrounding 
region  and  asked  for  arms  and  ammunition,  which  were 
given  him.  He  was  cautioned  to  take  good  care  of  him- 
self, and  to  send  the  same  word  to  all.  the  settlers;  and 
at  the  first  gunshot  fired  in  the  region  men  would  sally 
from  the  Fort  to  assist  them. 

Upon  receipt  of  this  news  the  Commandant  ordered 
that  all  the  French  who  were  in  the  Fort  should  be  under 


^''Cavelier:     See  note  80. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        233 

admis,  mais  a  la  demande  des  Sauvages  fut  prie  d'estre 
dehors. 

14  Juillet. — Jeudi  14  Juillet. — Le  frangais  qui  avait  ete 
blesse  Le  mercredy  matin  mourut  de  ses  blessures  vers  le 
meme  terns  qu'il  avait  ete  blesse  et  fut  enterre  aussitot 
que  possible,  afin  que  Ton  ne  Sciat  pas  dehors  Le  fort  que  il 
avait  ete  tue,  mais  nialgre  les  precautions  que  Ton  pris 
pour  cache  Sa  mort,  elle  fut  Sgue  par  les  frangais  et  par  les 
Sauvages.  , 

15e  Juillet. — Vendredy  15e  Juillet. — II  ne  S'est  rien 
passe  qui  merite  attention. 

16e  Juillet. — Samedy  16e  Juillet. — Un  esclave  appar- 
tenant  a  Mr.  Beaubien  vint  dans  le  fort  ayant  ete  envoye 
par  son  maitre  pour  reclame  des  animaux  qui  ayant  ete 
effarouches  par  Les  Sauvages  S'etait  refugie  dans  Le  fort, 
cette  esclave  fut  arreste  et  mis  en  prison  parce  que  Soit 
disant  il  avait  tire  avec  Les  Sauvages  Sur  ces  Mrs.  et  Sur 
La  Barque. 

17e  Juillet. — Dimanche  17e  Juillet. — plusieurs  personnes 
qui  connaissait  parfaitement  cette  esclave  pour  etre  un 
bon  sujet  et  qui  avaient  ete  temoins  de  Sa  conduite,  au 
commencement  de  cette  affaire,  vinrent  au  fort  a  la  messe 
et  en  meme  tems  pour  justifier  Le  panis  et  le  faire  de 
charge,  mais  sa  grace  fut  refusee,  en  attendant  d'autre 
temoins. 

Sur  les heures  du  soir  Mr.  Gammelin  vint  au  fort 

avec  deux  hommes  et  rapporterent  que  Les  Sauvages 
avaient  dessein  de  frape  Sur  Les  habitans  dans  les  costes, 
demanda  des  armes  et  de  la  munition  ce  qui  Luy  fut  donnee 
et  il  Lui  recommanda  de  se  bien  garde  et  de  le  faire  dire 
chez  tous  Les  habitans  et  que  au  premier  coup  de  fusils 
qu'il  serait  tire  dans  La  Coste,  il  sortiraient  du  monde  du 
fort  pour  les  secourir.  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  a  cette  nouvelle  or- 
donna  que  tous  Les  frangais  qui  etaient  dans  le  fort  fussent 


324  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

arms  the  whole  night  in  order  to  give  assistance  to  the 
coasts  if  necessary.  But  fortunately  the  night  went  by 
quietly  and  the  settlers  got  off  with  a  night's  vigil  and 
a  scare. 

July  18.     Monday. 

The  gates  of  the  Fort  had  been  continually  closed  up 
to  this  day  for  safety  and  to  prevent  a  surprise  from  the 
Indians;  this  was  very  bothersome,  not  only  to  the  officers 
who  were  compelled  to  open  them  for  the  needs  of  those 
who  asked  to  come  in,  but  also  for  those  who  wanted  to 
go  out,  and  through  fear  of  a  refusal  or  of  being  turned 
back  did  not  dare  ask  to  have  them  opened.  In  order  to 
settle  all  the  difficulties  knowledge  of  which  had  reached 
him,  the  Commandant  ordered  that  the  gate  which  faced 
the  river  should  be  opened  to  the  public  need  from  nine 
in  the  morning  to  six  in  the  evening;  and  that  two  sen- 
tinels should  be  stationed  in  each  side  with  orders  not  to 
allow  any  French  to  go  out  without  permission,  but  to 
allow  all  who  came  to  the  gate  to  come  in.  The  Indians 
were  excepted  in  the  order — truth  to  tell  they  did  not 
approach  nearer  than  half  a  mile  or  so,  and  then  only 
with  many  precautions. 

During  all  these  days  the  Indians  did  not  approach  to 
fire  upon  the  Fort. 

At  one  o'clock  the  Commandant  was  warned  that  the 
Ottawas  were  engaged  in  something  which  deserved  atten- 
tion. They  were  greatly  occupied  in  building  a  new  fire- 
float  of  dry  wood  which  they  planned  to  send  down  along 
the  river  and  which,  when  it  was  set  on  fire,  should  drift 
upon  the  sloop  and  burn  it.  But  it  took  a  long  while  to 
get  the  work  ready  for  what  it  was  designed  to  do. 

Toward  nine  in  the  evening  some  Chippewas  came  and 
fired  a  few  volleys  upon  the  sloop  which  in  turn  replied 
with  some  balls.  After  the  firing  the  Indians  howled 
abuse  at  the  guards  upon  the  vessel  among  whom  was  an 
Englishman  who  had  formerly  been  a  prisoner  among 
the  Ottawas;  he  spoke  the  Chippewa  tongue  pretty  well 
and  he  replied  to  the  Indians  in  the  same  strain. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION    d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        225 

Sur  pied  toute  La  nuit  pour  encas  de  besoin  d'aller  donne 
du  secours  dans  les  costes,  mais  heureusement  La  nuit  Se 
passa  tranquille  et  Les  habitans  en  furent  quitte  pour  une 
veille  et  une  peur. 

18e  Juillet. — Le  Lundy  18e  Juillet. — Les  portes  du  fort 
qui  j usque  a  ce  jour  avait  ete  continuellement  ferme  pour 
La  Surete  du  fort  et  par  la  crainte  de  Surprise  venant  des 
Sauvages  et  qui  genaient  fort,  tant  Mrs.  Les  officiers  pour 
Les  faire  ouvrir  au  besoin  de  ceux  qui  Le  demandoient 
que  ceux  qui  voullaient  sortir  par  la  crainte  d'un  refus 
ou  de  detourne  ces  Mrs.  n'osoient  en  demander  L'ouverture. 
Mr.  Le  Cdt.  pour  rompre  toutes  difficultes  quy  avaient 
penetre  Jusqu'a  Luy  ordonna  que  La  porte  qui  fesait  face 
a  la  riviere  Serait  ouverte  au  Besoin  du  public  depuis 
neuf  heures  du  matin  j  usque  a  Six  heures  du  Soir  avec 
deux  factionnaires  de  chaque  coste  qui  avaient  ordre  de 
ne  rien  Laisser  Sortir  du  fort  par  aucun  frangais  Sans  sa 
permission,  mais  de  Laisser  entre  ceux  qui  se  presenteroient 
a  la  porte,  Sinon  Les  Sauvages,  qui  a  dire  Levray  n'en 
approchaient  Le  plus  pres  de  quinze  arpens  et  encore  avec 
tout  Bien  des  precautions  tout  ce  jours  Les  Sauvages  ne 
vinrent  pas  tire  Sur  le  fort.  A  le  heure  L'on  vint  avertir 
Mr.  Le  Cdt.  que  Les  Sauvages  Outaouais  avoient  des 
manoeuvres  qui  paraissait  meriter  attention,  qui  Les 
occupaient  beaucoup  a  rebatir  de  nouveau  un  cajeux  de 
bois  sec  qui  suivant  Leurs  desseins  devait  venir  tout  le 
long  de  la  riviere  et  que  le  feu  etant  pris  avait  derive  Sur 
La  Barge  pour  La  brule,  mais  cette  ouvrage  etait  de  longue 
duree  avant  qu'il  fut  en  etat  de  faire  ce  pourquoy,  il  etait 
destine,  vers  Les  neufs  du  soir,  des  Sauvages  Sauteux 
vinrent  tire  des  coups  de  fusil  Sur  La  Barque,  qui  Luy 
en  envoya  aussi  quelque  coups,  apres  Ses  decharges  Les 
Sauvages  chanterent  Sotises  au  gardiens  de  la  barque 
parmis  Lesquels  il  y  avait  un  anglais  qui  avait  ete  prisonnier 
cy  devant  chez  Les  Outaouais  et  qui  parlait  assez  bien 
La  Langue  Sautaisse  et  il  repondit  aux  Sauvages  de  la 
meme  maniere  que  Le  Sauvage.     ***** 


226  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

July  19.     Tuesday. 

Around  two  o'clock  P.  M.  Mr.  Beaubien  brought  the 
news  that  some  twelve  savages  were  hidden  in  ambush  a 
little  more  than  half  a  mile  away  for  the  purpose  of  firing 
upon  the  Fort.  They  were  discovered  in  their  hiding 
place  and  two  cannon  balls  and  two  shells  were  discharged 
at  them;  one  of  the  latter  hit  an  apple  tree  in  which  six 
Indians  had  climbed.  They  came  down  promptly  and  fled 
from  the  enclosure  to  their  camp  where  they  kept  quiet 
the  rest  of  the  day. 

July  20.     Wednesday. 

The  Commandant  received  news  from  the  Indian  camp 
by  which  he  was  again  informed  that  the  Indians  were  at 
work  making  something  to  sweep  the  river,  so  as  to  suc- 
ceed in  burning  the  sloop  that  had  remained  near  the 
Fort  and  protected  the  approaches  to  it;  but  their  work 
was  only  in  its  infancy  and  it  would  take  a  week  longer 
at  least,  although  they  had  been  at  work  upon  it  for  four 
days,  and  were  bound  not  to  come  and  fire  upon  the  Fort 
till  the  fire-raft  was  done. 

At  this  report  the  Commandant  was  minded  to  profit 
by  the  delay  in  order  to  save  his  sloop  from  the  destruc- 
tion which  threatened  it.  He  ordered  that  two  boats  be 
sheathed  inside  with  oak  planking  five  inches  thick  and 
that  the  gunwales  be  increased  to  the  height  of     *    *     feet 

*  *  and  sheathed  like  the  inside,  so  that  a  man  stand- 
ing upright  in  the  boats  would  be  protected  from  the 
bullets.  In  the  prow  of  each  boat  a  swivel  gun  was 
mounted  so  as  to  rake  in  three  directions;  these  were 
tested  in  the  middle  of  the  river  in  front  of  the  Fort  and 
answered  all  expectations. 

July  21.     Thursday. 

The  Indians,  filled  with  their  project,  worked  as  indus- 
triously at  their  fire-raft  as  if  they  were  paid  for  it;  they 
did  not  give  themselves  any  respite,  hardly  taking  time  to 
eat  their  meals. 

From  what  he  had  been  told  concerning  the  way  the 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        227 

19e  Juillet. — Mardy  19e  Juillet. — Sur  les  deux  heures 
apres  midi,  il  vint  la  nouvelle  par  Mr.  Beaubien  qu'a 
quinze  arpens  du  fort  Environs  douze  Sauvages  etaient 
caches  en  embuscade  pour  tire  Sur  le  fort,  ils  furent 
decouverts  dans  Leurs  retraites  et  il  fut  envoye  deux  coups 
de  canon  a  boulets  et  deux  bombes  dont  une  frappa  un 
pommier  dans  Lequel  il  y  en  avait  Six  de  monte  qui  Le 
descendirent  promptement  en  fuyant  de  I'enclos  dans  leur 
camp  OU  ils  resterent  tranquille  Le  reste  du  jours. 

20e  Juillet. — Le  Mercredy  20e  Juillet. — Le  matin  Mr. 
Le  Cdt.  eut  nouvelle  du  camp  *  *  *  des  Sauvages  ou  L'on 
Luy  reitera  que  Les  Sauvages  etaient  a  barre  la  riviere  afin 
de  reussir  a  brule  La  barque  qui  avait  reste  pres  du  fort  et 
Les  empechaient  Les  approches  du  fort,  mais  que  Leurs 
ouvrages  n'etait  encore  que  naissante  et  qu'il  y  avaient 
encore  pour  huit  jours  d'ouvrage  pour  Le  moins  quoiqu'il 
y  eut  quatre  jours  qu'ils  y  travaillent  et  ils  n,e  voullaient 
pas  venir  tire  Sur  le  fort  que  Le  cajeu  ne  soit  termine 
Mr.  Le  Cdt.  sur  ce  rapport  voullu  en  profiter  de  ce  moment 
de  sauver  sa  barque  de  L'incendie  dont  elle  estait  menace 
et  ordonna  que  deux  bateaux  fussent  redouble  au  dedans 
avec  Bordage  de  Chene,  cinq  pouce  d'epaisseur  et  rehausse 
Les  bords  a  la  hauteur  de  *  *  *  *  pied  *  *  *  * 
et  double  comme  le  fond  de  sorte  qu'un  homme  pent  se 
tenir  dans  les  bateaux  debout  etait  par  la  haut  bord 
garanti  de  la  balle,  il  fut  mis  dans  la  pince  de  devant  de 
chaque  bateaux  un  piece  en  barbette  qui  batais  Sur  trois 
faces  dont  I'essaie  fut  fait  au  milieu  de  la  riviere  devant 
Le  fort  et  qui  reussit  comme  L'on  Se  L'etait  attendu. 

21e  Juillet. — Le  Jeudy  21e  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages  occupe 
de  leurs  projets  travaillerent  avec  autant  d'assuidite  a 
leurs  cajeux  que  S'ils  en  eussent  ete  Bien  paye,  ils  ne  Se 
donnerent  aucune  relache  car  a  peine  ils  se  donnaient  Le 
terns  de  prendre  leurs  repas,  *****  ^jg  ^es  deux 
bateaux  ordonna  et  n'ayant  qu'on  fit  a  ce  que  Lon  Luy 
avaient    fait    de    la    Conduite    des    Sauvages    dans    leurs 


228  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A   CONSPIRACY 

Indians  went  about  their  enterprises  the  Commandant 
judged  that  he  had  time  enough  yet  to  work  upon  his 
barges;  he  ordered  four  grappling-hooks  to  be  rigged,  two 
for  each  boat,  one  of  each  pair  supplied  with  an  iron 
chain  fifteen  feet  long,  the  other  hook  made  of  steel  or 
cast  iron  and  attached  to  ten  fathoms  of  cable.  The  two 
boats  thus  equipped  were  to  go  to  meet  the  fire-raft  and 
cast  their  grappling  hooks  with  the  chains  upon  it,  while 
the  other  hooks  or  half  anchors  were  to  be  dropped;  in 
this  way  the  course  of  the  raft  would  be  arrested  and  the 
sloop  saved  from  the  danger  which  had  threatened  it  for 
some  time,  and  the  labor  of  the  Indians  rendered  useless. 
During  this  time  the  sloop  was  to  weigh  anchor  again 
and  move  nearer  the  Fort  with  the  help  of  the  cables 
which  were  to  stop  the  fire-raft. 

Toward  evening  a  rumor  spread  that  the  Hurons  of 
the  bad  band  and  the  Chippewas  were  plotting  to  make 
an  attack  during  the  night  on  the  settlers  of  the  south- 
west coast;  the  settlers  stayed  on  the  alert  all  night,  but 
fortunately  the  rumor  proved  to  be  unfounded. 

July  22.     Friday. 

The  day  passed  quietly  for  both  parties.  In  the  course 
of  the  day  the  news  was  brought  by  an  Abenaki  Indian, 
who  came  according  to  his  tell,  from  Montreal,  that  a 
French  fleet  was  coming  to  Canada  to  recapture  the  coun- 
try; however,  the  story  died  in  its  inception  as  there  was 
nothing  true  about  it;  but  even  though  it  was  false  it 
reawakened  the  hope  of  Pontiac,  of  his  tribe,  and  of  the 
Chippewas,  who  had  *  *  *  their  foolish  schemes 
the  fire-raft,  the  labor  upon  which     *     *     * 

In  order  to  rescue  his  master  who  had  fallen  into  the 
river  an  employee  of  Mr.  Pierre  Reaume  wished     *     * 
*      (Here  follow  in  the  MMS  six  lines  quite  illegible. )'°*. 

July  23.     Saturday. 

The  day  passed  very  tranquilly  for  both  sides.     About 


^^'Schoolcraft,  who  had  the  manuscript  in  1846,  must  have  found  it  in  a  much 
better  condition  for  he  translates  "About  *  *  *  a  man  in  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Beaume    (Reaume)    ■wishing  to   cross   the    river    on    his  master's  business.     As   he 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        229 

entreprises,  il  y  avail  encore  de  Tavance  pour  faire 
travailler  a  la  barque,  il  ordonna  qu'il  fut  fait  quatre 
grapins  de  cordage  pour  mettre,  deux  dans  chaque  bateau, 
dont  I'un  de  ces  deux  grapins  avec  une  chaine  de  fer  de 
environ  quinze  pieds  de  Long  et  Tautre  grapin  Serait  en 
assier  ou  caste  de  dix  Brasse  de  Loing,  les  deux  bateaux 
ainsy  equippe  devaient  alle  au  devant  du  Sus-dit  cajeux  et 
jetter  Leurs  grapins  enchaine  dessus,  I'autre  grapin  ou 
demi  ancre  devait  etre  aussi  jette  a  I'ancre  et  par  cette 
manoeuvre  arreste  Le  cajeux  et  ainsi  La  barque  sera 
sauve  du  danger  qui  La  menagait  depuis  Longtemps  et 
rendre  I'ouvrage  des  Sauvages  inutille.  La  barque  devoit 
pendant  ce  temps  Leve  Son  ancre  d'ou  elle  etait  mouille, 
et  mouille  devant  le  fort  a  I'aidement  des  cables  qui 
devaient  arreste  Le  Cajeu. 

Vers  le  soir,  il  couru  un  bruit  que  les  hurons  de  la 
mauvaise  bande  et  les  Sauteux  avait  fait  complot  de  frape 
dans  La  nuit  sur  les  habitans  de  la  Coste  du  Sorouais,  ce 
qui  Leur  fit  passer  La  nuit  sur  pied,  mais  heureusement  ce 
bruit  se  trouva  faux. 

22e  Juillet. — Vendredy  22e  Juillet. — La  journee  Se  passa 
bien  tranquille,  de  part  et  d'autre  II  couru  le  jour  en  suite, 
une  nouvelle  venant  de  la  part  d'un  sauvage  Abenaqui, 
qui  Soi-disant  venait  de  Montreal  *****  ^t  q^'ji 
venait  une  flotte  frangaise  en  Canada  pour  reprendre  le 
pays,  mais  elle  mourut  dans  sa  naissance,  n'ayant  rien  qu'il 
Le  fut  vray,  mais  neanmoins  quoy  que  fausse  elle  reveilla 
dans  le  chef  Pondiac  et  dans  sa  bande  et  des  Sauteux  qui 
avaient  *****  leurs  folks  entreprises  le  cajeu 
dont  Le  travail    *     *     *     *  De  la  vouloir  finir. 

Un  engage  de  Mr.  piere  reaume  voullii  pour  retirer  Son 
maitre  qui  etait  tombe  a  la  riviere.      ***** 

23e  Juillet. — Samedy  23e  Juillet. — La  journee  Se  passa 
fort  tranquille  de  part  et  d'autre  sur  les  trois  heures  de 


had  reached  the  middle,  the  Indians  made  several  discharges  at  him.  These  made 
bim  return  with  more  speed  than  he  had  gone.  About  ten  in  the  evening,  as 
the  sentinels   were   on   the    watch,   random   shots   were    fired." 


230  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

three  o'clock  P.  M.  there  was  heard  in  the  Fort  from  the 
direction  of  the  Huron  village  a  volley  of  gun  shots  as  if 
to  salute  the  arrival  of  some  barge.  The  English  feared 
it  was  to  greet  the  coming  of  some  new  prisoners,  but  it 
turned  out  to  be  the  arrival  of  Andre^^^  Huron  de 
Lorette. 

July  24.     Sunday. 

The  Indians  who  were  bound  to  destroy  the  sloop 
labored  hard  to  carry  out  their  project,  and  the  Com- 
mandant who  was  equally  determined  that  their  project 
should  fail  ordered  the  two  boats  I  have  spoken  of  before 
to  make  a  reconnoissance  up  the  river  in  order  to  disturb 
them  in  their  labors,  and  it  was  done.  Toward  ten  o'clock 
three  officers  with  sixty  men  well  armed  embarked  in  the 
two  boats  and  a  barge  and  went  up  the  river  to  discover 
the  place  where  they  were  working. 

The  savages  who  saw  the  three  boats  in  the  distance 
and  believed  it  was  some  booty  coming  into  their  hands 
abandoned  their  labors,  and  twenty  of  them  with  weapons 
in  their  hands  came  out  in  two  canoes  to  meet  the  three 
boats.  The  English  who  were  aboard  allowed  them  to 
come  within  gunshot.  The  savages  did  it,  not  understand- 
ing the  construction  of  these  boats;  they  advanced  with 
cries  of  joy,  thinking  they  would  capture  them,  but  they 
received  a  rude  surprise.  When  the  commander  of  the 
boats  saw  them  near  enough  for  all  the  shots  to  carry, 
he  ordered  his  men  to  seize  their  guns  and  fire  not  only 
the  muskets  but  the  swivels  as  well.  This  startled  the 
Indians  who  were  not  expecting  such  a  salute,  and  they 
retraced  their  course  quicker  than  they  had  come.  From 
the  shore  they  fired  upon  the  boats  and  slightly  wounded 
a  man  in  the  head  with  a  bullet  which  pierced  his  hat 
and  carried  away  a  lock  of  his  hair. 

The  boats  and  the  barge   returned   to  the  Fort  about 


""Andre,  a  Huron  Indian,  was  greatly  trusted  by  the  English.  He  carried 
letters  from  Detroit  and  Sandusky  to  Bouquet  and  Fort  Pitt  during  the  Indian 
wars.  Schoolcraft  adds  after  this  sentence  "who  had  arrived  with  ♦  •  *  Lenape 
chief  of  Belle  River  and  that  *  *  ♦  Detroit  in  *  *   *. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        231 

I'apres  midy  il  fut  entendu  du  fort  vers  le  village  des  hiirons 
une  volee  de  coups  de  fusil,  comma  un  salut  de  berge  qui 
arrive,  alors  ces.  Mrs.  craignant  que  c'etait  quelque  prison- 
niers  que  les  Sauvages  avaient  fait,  mais  c'etait  Andre 
Huron  de  Lorette  qui  arrivait. 

24e  Juillet. — Deinanche  24e  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages 
qui  voullaient  detruire  La  barque  travaillaient  fortement 
a  faire  reussir  leurs  projets  et  Mr,  Le  Cdt.  qui  voullais 
que  Leurs  projets  tournassent  a  rien  *****  jQ^ 
faire  une  decouverte  sur  la  riviere  avec  Les  bateaux  dont 
Jay  parle  plus  haut  afin  de  les  inquieter  dans  leurs  travaux, 
ce  qui  fut  execute.  Sur  les  dix  heures,  trois  officiers  a  la 
teste  de  Soixante  hommes  de  troupes  bien  armees  Em- 
barquerent  dans  Les  deux  bateaux  et  une  berge  et 
monterent  dans  la  riviere  pour  decouvrir  le  lieux  de  Leurs 
travaille,  Les  Sauvages  qui  virent  de  Loing  Ses  trois 
voitures  crurent  que  c'etait  quelque  proye  qui  leur  venait, 
abandonnerent  Leurs  ouvrages  et  embarquerent  au  nombre 
de  vingt  dans  deux  canots  avec  Leurs  amies,  pour  venir 
aux  devant  de  c'est  trois  bateaux.  Ces  Mrs.  qui  etaient 
dedans  Les  Laisserent  aproche  a  la  porte  d'un  fusil,  ce 
que  fesaient  aussi  Les  Sauvages  qui  ne  Sgavaient  pas  La 
construction  de  ces  bateaux  et  avangaient  en  fesant  des 
cris  de  joye,  croyant  de  les  tenir,  et  qui  eut  un  mauvais  cen- 
tre tems  parce  que  le  Cdt.  de  ces  bateaux  Les  voyant  assez 
proche  pour  tous  les  coups  puisse  porte,  ordonna  a 
tout  Sont  monde  de  prendre  Leurs  armes  et  de  faire  feux 
tans  que  de  la  mousqueterie  que  du  pierrier  ce  qui  Surpris 
Les  Sauvages  qui  ne  S'attendaient  pas  a  un  pareille  Salut, 
retournerent  sur  Leurs  pas  plus  vite  qu'ils  n'etaient  venus 
et  tirerent  Sur  Les  bateaux  de  terre  et  blesserent  un  homme 
legerement  a  la  teste,  d'une  balle  qui  perga  son  chapeau 
et  Luy  emporta  un  bouquet  de  cheveux.  Les  bateaux  et  la 
berge  revinrent  au  fort,  Sur  Les  midy  sans  avoir  pu  de- 


333  JOURNAL   OR    NARRATIVE   OF   A   CONSPIRACY 

noon  without  being  able  to  discover  either  their  hiding  place 
or  their  work.  The  Indians  followed  along  after  them  on 
land  as  far  as  Mr.  Chauvin's^^^  house,  a  mile  and  a  quar- 
ter from  the  Fort,  where  the  barge  discharged  a  cannon 
ball  at  them  which  scattered  them  but  did  not  wound  any. 
However,  the  ball  entered  the  house,  doing  great  damage, 
and  dangerously  wounding  two  savages,  one  in  the  arm, 
the  other  in  the  thigh;  the  latter  died  some  days  later. 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Ottawa  and 
Chippewa  chiefs  repaired  to  the  village  of  the  Hurons  in 
obedience  to  a  request  from  the  chiefs  of  the  Eries  and 
Delawares,  who  had  sent  word  early  in  the  morning  ask- 
ing for  a  council. 

The  Commandant  ordered  the  two  boats  and  the  barge 
around  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  to  take  the  same 
number  of  men,  and  go  back  up  the  river  to  where  they 
went  in  the  morning  to  see  if  they  could  discover  the 
Indians  and  where  they  were  at  work.  But  they  were 
unable  to  find  out  anything;  the  Indians  followed  them  as. 
in  the  morning  and  fired  upon  them.  The  boats  and  the 
barge  returned  the  fire  without  doing  any  damage  because 
the  Indians  took  refuge  behind  the  fences.  The  boats  and 
the  barge  returned  to  the  Fort  about  six  o'clock  no  better 
off  than  when  they  left. 

Around  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  Ottawas  came 
and  fired  some  scattering  shots  at  the  Fort. 

July  25.     Monday. 

The  Ottawas  were  busy  in  the  council  which  was  to 
have  been  held  the  day  before  but  had  been  put  over  to 
this  day,  and  neglected  the  Fort  to  go  to  the  house  of  the 
Delaware  and  Erie  chiefs  in  the  Huron  village. 

Two  residents  of  the  Fort,  who  had  gone  on  business 
some  time  before  to  the  northern  neighborhoods  and  had 
been  held  by  Pontiac,  returned  during  the  day  and  brought 
word  that  the  building  of  the  famous  raft  had  been  com- 
pletely abandoned.  This  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  two 
Frenchmen  who  had  told  them  that  the  boats  would  hinder 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE    CONSPIRATION        233 

couvir  Leurs  retraites  ny  Leurs  travaux.  Les  Sauvages  les 
conduisirent  par  terre  j usque  chez  Mr.  Chauvin  a  trente 
arpent  du  fort  ou  La  barge  Leurs  envoya  de  canon  a  boulet 
qui  Les  fit  fuire  Sans  en  blesse  aucun,  mais  le  boulet  entra 
dans  leur  maison  et  fit  un  grand  degat  et  blessa  dangereuse- 
ment  deux  Sauvages  aux  bras  et  a  la  Cuisse  dont  ce  dernier 
en  mourut  quelques  jours  apres. 

Sur  Les  un  heure  apres  midy  Les  chefs  Outaouais  et 
Sauteux  Se  rendirent  au  village  des  hurons  Suivant  La 
demande  du  chefs  chats  et  des  Loups  qui  Les  avaient  fait 
avertir  des  Le  petit  matin  pour  tenir  Conseil. 

Sur  les  trois  heures  apres  midy,  Les  deux  bateaux  et  la 
berge  avec  La  meme  quantite  de  monde  retourna  par  ordre 
de  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  ou  ils  avaient  ete  Le  matin  voir  S'ils  les  de- 
couvriraient,  et  le  lieu  de  leur  travail  des  Sauvages,  ce  qu'ils 
ne  purent  faire  Les  Sauvages  tirerent  de  Sur  de  terre  et 
Les  conduisirent  comme  Le  matin.  Les  bateaux  et  La 
barque  tirerent  dessus  eux  Sans  pouvoir  Leur  faire  aucun 
tord,  parce  que  les  Sauvages  se  retranchaient  derriere  Les 
Cloutures  des  terres.  Les  bateaux  et  la  berge  revenerent  au 
fort  Sur  Six  heures  du  Soir  Les  Outaouais  vinrent  tire  Sur 
Le  fort  Sans  dessein. 

25e  Juillet. — Le  Lundy  25e  Juillet. — Les  Outaouais  occupe 
du  conseil  qui  devoient  Se  tenir  le  jour  precedent  et  qui  fut 
remis  a  ce  jour  oublierent  Le  fort  pour  aller  a  la  demeure 
des  chefs  chats  et  Loups  au  village  des  Hurons. 

Deux  domicilier  du  fort  qui  avaient  ete  quelque  temps 
auparavant  dans  les  Costes  du  nord  pour  affaire  et  qui 
avaient  ete  retenus  par  pondiak  et  revinrent  ce  jour,  et 
rapporterent  que  I'edifice  de  ce  fameux  cajeu  avait  ete 
totalement  abandonne  par  I'entremise  de  deux  frangais  qui 
leur  dit  que  les  bateaux  empecheraient  le  cajeu  de  couler  la 
barque  et  qu'il  y  avaient  des  chaines  grippe  avec  deux  ancres 


m^Jean  Baptiste  Chauvin  lived  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  east  of  the  fort. 
In  1771  he  was  living  on  his  farm  at  the  Grand  Marais.  He  was  a  laborer  and 
married  in  1767.  His  brother  Charles  was  a  blacksmith  for  the  Hurons  and  the 
village  of  Detroit,  and  also  lived  east  of  the  fort. 


234  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

the  raft  from  running  down  the  sloop ;  and  that  there  were 
grappling  chains  with  two  anchors  to  hold  the  vessel  moored 
in  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  that  they  were  laboring 
in  vain  as  they  would  never  accomplish  their  purpose. 
This  discouraged  them  so  that  they  absolutely  gave  up 
their  mad  enterprise. 

The  rumor  was  circulated  in  the  Fort  about  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening  that  Messrs.  Jacques  Godfroy  and  Mesmil- 
chesne  had  returned"  ^  from  the  Illinois  where  they  had 
been  sent  by  Pontiac.  The  report  was  not  substantiated 
till  the  next  day. 

July  26.     Tuesday.     St.  Ann's  Day. 

Early  in  the  morning  it  was  learned  that  the  messengers 
whom  Pontiac,  great  chief  of  the  nations  of  the  north,  had 
sent  to  Mr.  DeLeon,  commander  of  the  Illinois  country, 
had  returned  the  night  before.  Growing  out  of  this  all 
sorts  of  rumors  were  circulated  by  the  French  in  the  Fort, 
but  they  had  no  foundation  in  fact  and  so  died  in  their 
birth;  the  principal  one  was  that  the  Illinois  nations 
strongly  recommended  the  Indian  nations  of  Detroit  not 
to  do  any  harm  to  the  French  who  lived  in  the  surround- 
ing coasts  or  to  those  in  the  Fort,  unless  they  should 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  English. 

On  this  day  a  great  council  was  again  held  in  the  Huron 
village  among  the  Fries,  Delawares,  Ottawas,  and  Potta- 
wattamies.  At  its  conclusion  Pontiac  in  his  capacity  of 
over-chief  of  all  the  nations  of  the  north,  wearing  his  war- 
belt,  caught  up  the  tomahawk  of  battle  and  began  to  chant 
a  war-song  against  the  English,  at  the  same  time  inviting 
all  the  chiefs  in  the  council  to  do  likewise;  he  told  them 
that  the  Master  of  Life  had  ordered  him  to  make  war 
upon  the  English  and  spare  not,  and  the  field  must  be 
swept  clean  for  the  coming  of  his  Father  in  the  autumn. 
Aroused  by  his  example  all  the  other  chiefs  and  the  Indians 
chanted  the  war-song  in  their  turn  till  the  end  of  the 
council. 

According   to   the    report    of    some    Frenchmen   of   the 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   D'uNE    CONSPIRATION        235 

pour  La  faire  reste  au  milieu  de  la  riviere  et  qu'ils  travail- 
laient  inutilement  qu'il  ne  viendrait  jamais  a  bout  de  leurs 
desseins  ce  qui  Les  deconcerta  jusqu'au  point  d'abandonner 
tout  a  fait  Leurs  folles  entreprises. 

Sur  les  dix  heures  du  soir,  il  courii  dans  Le  fort  une 
nouvelle  que  Mr.  Jacques  Godfroy  et  mesnilchesne  qui 
avaient  ete  envoye  par  pondiak  au  illinois  etaient  de  retour, 
cette  nouvelle  ne  fut  confirme  que  Le  Lendemain. 

26e  Juillet. — Mardy  26e  Juillet. — Jour  de  la  feste  de  Ste. 
Anne,  L'on  Sgue  des  Le  petit  matin  que  Les  Couriers  que 
pondiak,  grand  chef  de  toutes  les  nations  du  nord,  avail 
envoye  vers  Mr,  De  Leon,  Cdt.  des  illinois.  etaient  de  re- 
tour  La  veille  au  soir,  a  cette  arrive  il  fut  debite  par  Les 
frangais  du  fort  differente  nouvelle,  qui  n'avait  rien  de 
vray  et  qui  mourrait  dans  Leurs  naissance,  La  principal 
etait  que  les  nations  des  illinois,  recommandoient  fort  aux 
nations  du  Detroit  de  ne  point  faire  de  tord  aux  frangais 
qui  habitaient  Les  costes  ny  a  ceux  qui  etoient  aans  le  fort, 
au  nioins  qu'ils  ne  voulussent  prendre  Le  parti  des  anglais. 

II  y  eut  encore  ce  jour  un  grand  Conseil  chez  Les  hurons, 
entre  eux  Les  chats  et  Les  Loups,  Les  outaouais  et  les 
poux  et  a  la  fin  du  Conseil,  pondiak  par  ses  qualites  de 
grand  chef  de  toutes  Les  nations  du  nord,  home  du  colier 
de  guerre  pris  La  halte  de  guerre  et  La  chanta  contre  les 
anglais  en  invitant  tous  les  chefs  qui  etaient  dans  le  Con- 
seil de  I'imiter,  Leur  disant  que  Le  maitre  de  la  vie  Luy 
avait  dit  de  faire  La  guerre  aux  anglais  Sans  Les  epargne 
et  qu'il  falait  que  La  place  fut  nette  pour  quand  Son  pere 
viendrait  cette  automne,  tous  Les  autres  chefs  a  Son  ex- 
emple  avec  Les  Sauvages  chanterent  tous  la  guerre  tour  a 
tour  et  a  la  fin  du  conseil  Suivant  Le  rapport  de  quelque 
frangais  de  la  coste  qui  S'y  etait  trouve  Le  chef  des  chats 


"^They  returned  bringing  letters  for  the  French  habitants  and  messages  to 
Pontiac.  Mr.  Navarre  sent  some  of  the  letters  to  the  fort.  Godfroy  told  Pontiac 
that  the  commandant  in  the  Illinois  country  could  not  send  him  any  help  as  he 
had  heard  that  peace  had  been  declared,  but  as  soon  as  his  couriers  arrived,  whom 
he  had  sent  to  New  Orleans,  if  he  found  the  news  to  be  false,  he  would  see  what 
he  could  do.  He  desired  the  French  to  keep  quiet.  Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit, 
pp.  51  and  53. 


236  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A  CONSPIRACY 

region  who  were  present  the  Erie  chief  said :  '*My 
brothers,  remember  that  the  French  are  our  brothers  and 
that  they  must  not  be  harmed  because  our  Father  could 
reproach  us  for  it  unless  they  should  take  up  the  interests 
of  the  English." 

July  27.     Wednesday. 

The  Indians  spent  all  this  day  chanting  the  war-song, — 
each  nation  in  their  own  village  led  by  their  chief;  and 
they  took  new  measures  to  insure  the  capture  of  the  Fort, 
but  all  their  plans  amounted  to  nothing. 

Around  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Andre  Huson^^^ 
de  Lorette,  whom  the  English  had  suspected  of  being  con- 
cerned in  the  uprisings  of  the  Indians  and  even  of  being 
ringleader,  came  into  the  Fort  to  vindicate  himself  and 
prove  his  innocence. 

About  six  o'clock  some  one  came  and  reported  to  the 
English  that  the  savages  intended  to  set  fire  to  the  two 
portable  bastions  which  were  situated  in  the  rear  of  the 
Fort  on  the  slope  and  in  which  four  sentinels  were  posted 
each  day. 

July  29.     Fridayi^^ 

All  night  a  fog  so  dense  that  one  could  not  see  a  step 
in  front  of  him.  Toward  daylight  it  thinned  a  little,  and 
about  five  o'clock,  an  hour  when  one  was  least  expecting 
it,  a  great  number  of  barges  were  seen  coming  into  sight 
on  the  river  to  the  right  of  the  River  Rouge.  The  Fort 
was  at  once  on  the  alert,  thinking  it  was  some  Indian  par- 
ties coming  to  join  the  ones  here.  The  English  did  not 
suspect  it  was  relief  for  them  although  they  were  expect- 
ing some,  and  to  assure  themselves  as  to  what  it  might 
be  a  cannon  shot  was  fired  on  the  southeast  side.  A  cannon 
shot  came  in  response,  for  these  barges  had  four  little 
cannons  mounted  as  swivels  in  the  bow,  and  there  were  in 
addition  two  small  mortar  six-pounders. 

i^Huron. 

"*Mr.  Rudolph  Worch  and  Dr.  F.  Krusty,  who  translated  this  manuscript  in 
1885,  recorded  on  July  28th:  "The  Indians  did  not  move  this  day.  [The  com- 
mander asked]  the  settlers  to  come  into  the  fort  and  not  go  to  the  shores."  Mich. 
Pion.  and  Hist.  Colls.,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  337.  This  portion  of  the  MMS.  is  almost 
entirely  gone. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        237 

dit  mes  freres  Souvenez  vous  que  les  frangais  sent  nos 
freres  et  qu'il  faut  prendre  garde  de  ne  point  Leur  faire 
de  mal  parce  que  nostre  pere  nous  Le  reprocheraient,  a 
moins  qu'ils  ne  veulent  prendre  les  interets  des  anglais. 

27e  Juillet. — Le  mercredi  27e  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages 
employerent  encore  cette  journee  pour  chanter  La  guerre, 
chaque  nation  La  chanta  dans  son  village  Leurs  chef  a 
Leurs  tetes  et  prirent  de  nouvelles  mesures  pour  reussir  a 
prendre  Le  fort  mais  toute  Leurs  dimention  et  rien  fut 
tout  de  meme. 

Sur  Les  deux  heures  apres  midy,  Andre  Huson  de  Lo- 
rette,  qui  avait  ete  Soupgonne  par  ces  Mrs.  d'estre  complices 
dans  les  revolutions  des  Sauvages  et  meme  d'y  avoir  La 
premiere  main  entra  dans  le  fort  pour  se  justifier  et  prouve 
Son  innocence. 

Sur  Les  Six  heures  L'on  vint  dire  a  ces  Mrs.  que  Les 
Sauvages  voullaient  mettre  Le  feu  aux  deux  cavaliers  qui 
etaient  derriere  Le  fort  Sur  Le  coteaux  Lesquels  ont 
mettaient  journellement  quatre  factionnaires  dans  chaque. 

28e  Juillet. — Jeudy  28e  Juillet. — Les  Sauvages  resterent 
tranquille  tous  cette  journee.  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  demanda  aux 
habitans  de  venir  au  fort  et  fit  defense  de  ne  point  aller  a 
la  Coste.  Sous  pretexte  de  n'estre  point  decouvert  dans 
leur  retraite  les  Sauvages  formaient  le  pro  jet  de  vouloir 
prendre  Le  fort  d'assaut. 

29e  Juillet. — Vendredy  29e  Juillet. — Toute  la  nuit  un 
Brouillard  Sy  epais  que  L'on  ne  voyait  pas  un  pas  devant 
Soy  Sur  le  jour  il  diminua  un  peu,  Sur  les  cinq  heures  du 
matin  a  I'heure  que  L'on  y  pensait  Lemoins  L'on  vit 
paraistre  Sur  La  riviere  au  droit  de  la  riviere  rouge  un 
grand  nombre  de  berges,  ce  qui  donna  une  espece  d'allerte 
dans  le  fort,  croyant  que  c'etait  quelques  parties  Sauvages 
qui  venaient  Se  joindre  a  ceux  d'icy,  Ses  Mrs.  ne  Sgavaient 
pas  que  c'etait  du  Secours  qui  Leurs  venaient  Bien  que 
cependant  ils  en  attendaient :  mais  pour  S'assurer  de  ce 
que  pouvait  estre  il  firent  tire  un  coup  de  canon  du  coste 
du  Sorais  il  Leur  fut  repondue  par  un  autre  coup  de  canon, 


238  JOURNAL  OR    NARRATIVE  OF   A  CONSPIRACY 

When  the  shot  was  heard  the  Commandant,  followed  by 
Mr.  Hopkins  and  two  other  officers,  embarked  with  ten 
soldiers  in  one  of  the  boats  that  I  have  spoken  of  before, 
and  went  out  to  meet  the  barges  and  see  what  they  were. 
There  w^ere  twenty-two  of  them  with  two  hundred  eighty 
troops  and  six  cannons,  and  an  aide-de-camp^  ^^  of  General 
Amherst  was  in  command. 

As  the  barges  passed  between  the  Huron  and  Pottawat- 
tamy  villages  which  were  opposite  each  other,  they  were 
saluted  by  volleys  from  the  two  nations  w^hich  dangerously 
wounded  fifteen  men  in  the  body,  two  of  whom  died,  and 
some  others  only  slightly  in  the  arms  and  hands.  From 
Niagara  to  the  Fort  here  the  barges  had  been  guided  by 
Mr.  Lasel,  a  trader  of  Montreal  who  had  interests  in  this 
post. 

As  there  were  not  barracks  enough  to  lodge  all  the 
troops,  an  order  was  issued  that  some  should  be  quartered 
till  further  orders  on  private  citizens,  according  to  the 
accommodations  of  each  one,  and  this  was  carried  out 
promptly. 

In  passing  by  the  way  of  Sandusky  the  troops  terrified 
some  of  the  Indians  who  were  living  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  village  there.  At  sight  of  so  many  men  the  savages 
took  fright  and  abandoned  their  cabins  which  were  pillaged 
and  burned  by  the  soldiers,  and  their  cornfields  devas- 
tated. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  troops  a  rumor  was  circulated 
in  the  Fort  that  still  more  forces  to  the  number  of  four 
hundred  men  were  coming  by  the  northern  route  to  join 
the  English;  but  it  was  not  true. 

July  30.     Saturday. 

The  Commandant  ordered  that  a  part  of  the  canoes 
which  had  been  lying  on  the  edge  of  the  strand  in  front  of 
the  Fort  since  the  beginning  of  hostilities  should  be 
repaired  to  be  ready  for  use  in  case  they  were  wanted. 

"°James  Dalzell  (or  Dalyell),  Amherst's  aide-de-camp,  had  been  appointed 
lieutenant  in  the  60th  or  Royal  Americans  early  in  1756,  and  in  1760  obtained 
a  company  in  the  2nd  Battalion  of  the  Royals  or  1st  Regiment  of  Foot.  He 
wag  killed  at  the  battle  on  the  bridge  over  Parent  Creek  described  at  the  end  of 
this  manuscript.     Diary  of  the  Siege  of  Detroit,  p.  54. 


JOURNAL   OU   DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        339 

parceque  ces  berges  avaient  quatre  petit  canon  monte  en 
barbet  ou  vid  millet  Sur  la  piece  de  devant  avec  deux 
petits  mortier  de  six,  a  cette  reponse  Mr.  Le  Cdt.  Suivi  de 
Mr.  hobquince  et  de  deux  officiers  avec  dix  Soldats  em- 
barquerent  dans  un  des  bateaux  dont  Jay  cy  dessus  parle 
et  furent  au  devant  de  ses  berges  pour  Les  reconnaitre  qui 
etaient  au  nombre  de  vingt  deux  dans  Lesquelles  etaient 
deux  cents  quatre  vingt  hommes  de  troupe  regie,  Six  ca- 
nonniers  a  la  teste  desquel  etait  un  aide  de  camp  de  Mr. 
Le  general  Amars,  ces  berges  en  passant  devant  Les  vil- 
lages des  hurons  et  des  paux  qui  Se  regardaient,  ils  furent 
Salue  de  quelque  decharge  de  coups  de  fusil  de  la  part 
de  ses  deux  nations  qui  en  blesserent  quinze  dans  Le  corps 
dangereusement,  dont  deux  en  moururent,  et  d'autres  aux 
bras  et  aux  mains,  mais  Legerement,  ces  berges  depuis 
Niagara  Jusque  icy  dans  Lefort  furent  guide  par  Mr.  La 
Sel,  commergant  de  Montreal  qui  avaient  des  interest  dans 
ce  poste. 

Comme  il  n'y  avait  point  de  cazerne  pour  Loge  toute 
cette  troupe  il  fut  ordonne  que  chaque  particulier  en 
Logeraient  Jusque  a  nouvelle  ordre  chaqu'un  suivant  Le 
Logement  qu'il  occupait,  ce  qui  fut  Execute  ponctuelle- 
ment.  Cette  troupe  en  passant  par  Sandosque  donna 
L'epouvante  a  quelque  Sauvage  qui  etaient  cabane  aux  en- 
virons du  village,  Ses  Sauvages  voyant  tant  de  monde 
eiirent  peur  et  abandonnerent  Leurs  cabane  qui  fut  pille 
par  Les  Soldats  et  Leurs  cabanes  brule  et  Leurs  bled 
arrache. 

A  cette  arrivee  il  couru  un  bruit  dans  Le  fort  qu'il  venait 
encore  des  forces  a  ces  messieurs  par  le  nord  au  nombre 
de  quatre,  cent  hommes  ce  qui  ne  fut  point. 

30e  Juillet.— Le  Samedy  30e  Juillet.— Mr.  Le  Cdt.  or- 
donna  qu'une  partie  des  canots  de  course  qui  etaient  Sur 
Le  bord  de  la  greve  devant  Lefort  depuis  Le  Commence- 
ment de  cette  Evenement  fussent  racommode  pour  Servir 


340  JOURNAL   OR   NARRATIVE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY 

In  the  evening  all  the  troops  assembled  on  the  parade- 
grounds  for  instruction  as  was  customary,  and  all  the 
officers,  the  old  as  well  as  the  new-comers,  were  there.  It 
was  decided  to  make  a  sortie  in  the  course  of  the  coming 
night  with  three  hundred  and  some  odd  men,  at  the  head 
of  whom  should  be  the  aide-de-camp  who  had  commanded 
the  troops  just  arrived,  and  proceed  straight  to  Pontiac's 
camp  in  order  to  bring  him  and  the  savages  to  account 
and  compel  them  to  make  peace.  Sabres  and  ammunition 
were  distributed  to  the  whole  troop,  which  was  ordered 
to  be  ready  at  the  first  call  in  the  coming  night. 

At  two  o'clock  of  this  same  day  the  Hurons  who  had 
got  wind  that  some  sortie  was  about  to  be  tried  made  a 
pretense  of  abandoning  their  village.  At  Point  Montreal 
in  full  sight  of  the  Fort  they  burned  some  old  canoes  and 
rubbish  which  was  worthless  to  them,  and  embarked  bag 
and  baggage,  even  the  dogs,  and  departed  down  the  river 
as  if  headed  for  their  winter  camp.  Several  of  the  French 
believed  this,  too,  and  some  one  went  and  told  the  Eng- 
lish who  put  credence  in  the  departure  without  wishing, 
however,  to  run  the  risk  of  going  to  the  village,  fearful 
of  some  trick  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  And  trick  it 
was,  because  the  Hurons  dropped  down  the  river  beyond 
sight  of  the  houses,  landed  in  the  woods  and  concealed 
their  women  and  children  and  goods,  then  came  back 
through  the  forest  to  the  right  of  the  village  and  took  a 
position  where  they  could  ambush  the  English  in  case  they 
came  to  the  village,  as  had  been  rumored. 

It  was  a  false  report,  nevertheless  the  Hurons  remained 
in  ambush  on  the  lookout  two  days,  after  which  they  came 
back  to  their  village  just  as  they  had  departed. 

July  31.     Sunday. 

About  two  in  the  morning,  following  the  orders  of  the 
aide-de-camp,  all  the  troops  selected  for  the  expedition 
were  ready  to  set  out  in  light  marching  order,  stripped 
to  their  jackets  and  carrying  their  accoutrements  and  their 
arms.     As  soon  as  they  left  the  Fort  they  turned  in  the 


JOURNAL   OU  DICTATION   d'uNE   CONSPIRATION        241 

au  besoin  que  L'on  en  aurait.  Le  Soir,  Suivant  La  Cou- 
tume  toiite  Se  trouva  Sur  La  place  d'arme  pour  L'instruc- 
tion  a  tous  Les  officiers  tant  anciens  que  nouveaux  Se 
trouverent,  il  fut  decide  que  Dans  La  nuit  Suivante  il 
serait  fait  une  Sortie  de  trois  cents  et  quelque  homme  a 
la  teste  desquels  devait  estre  Mr.  L'aide  de  Camp,  Cdt. 
des  nouveaux  arrive  et  a  la  premiere  devaient  alles  au 
camp  de  pondiak  pour  lui  parler  ainsi  qu'aux  Sauvages  et 
Les  Contraindre  a  faire  une  paix,  Sabres  et  La  monition 
fut  distribue  a  toute  la  troupe  et  il  fut  ordonne  de  se 
tenir  pret  pour  le  premier  appel  qui  devait  etre  La  nuit 
suivante. 

Ce  mesme  jour  a  deux  heures  Les  hurons  qui  avaient 
cut  vent  de  quelque  chose  devaient  faire  une  sortie,  firent 
frime  d'abandonner  Leurs  villages  et  Brulerent  a  La  pointe 
Montreal  a  la  vue  du  fort  des  vieux  Canots  et  mauvais 
efifet  qui  leurs  etaient  inutil  et  embarquerent  femme  et  en- 
fant Jusque  au  chien  et  dessendirent  comme  S'ils  eussent 
voullu  aller  en  hyvernement,  plusieurs  frangais  Le  crurent 
aussi  dont  il  y  eut  quelqu'un  qui  Le  vint  dire  a  Ses  Mrs. 
qui  donnSrent  dans  ce  depart,  Sans  cependant  vouloir  S'a- 
zarder  d'aller  au  village  Se  mefiant  de  quelque  ruse  de  la 
part  desauvage,  ce  qui  etait  aussi  parce  que  Les  hurons 
avaient  dessendue  Le  long  de  la  riviere  hors  de  la  vue  des 
habitations  et  avaient  debarque  dans  le  bois  mettant  Leurs 
femmes  et  Leurs  enfants  et  Leurs  butins  en  cacha  et  etaient 
venus  par  dans  Le  bois  audroit  du  village  S'embusque  en 
cas  que  Mrs.  Les  anglais  fussent  a  leurs  villages  Comme  ont 
Leurs  avaient  dit,  ce  qui  ne  fut  point,  neanmoins  Les 
hurons  resterent  dans  Leurs  embuscades  deux  jours  a 
guetter  au  bout  desquels  ils  revinrent  a  leurs  villages  Comme 
ils  en  avait  partis. 

31e  Juillet. — Dimanche  31e  Juillet. — Sur  Les  deux  heures 
du  matin  Suivant  Les  ordres  de  Mr.  Laide  de  camp  tous 
Le  monde  nomee  pour  Le  detachement  fut  prest  a  partir 
a  la  Legere  n'ayant  Sur  eux  que  leur  veste  et  Leur  fauvrie- 
ment  et  arme,   en  partant  du   fort  tournerent  Leurs  pas 


242  JOURNAL  OR   NARRATIVE  OF   A  CONSPIRACY 

direction  of  Pontiac's  camp  which  was  at  that  time  about 
two  miles  and  a  half  north  of  the  Fort  at  a  place  called 
Cardinal  Point^^^. 

Unfortunately  the  English  had  imparted  their  plans  to 
some  French  inside  the  Fort  who  had  repeated  them  in 
confidence  to  some  of  the  French  on  the  outside,  and 
through  these  confidences  the  savages  learned  of  it.  They 
were  on  their  guard;  in  order  not  to  be  surprised  they 
concealed  their  women  and  children  away  from  the  camp, 
leaving  in  it  only  their  old  men.  Then,  as  they  knew  the 
hour  when  the  troops  departed  from  the  fort,  they  went 
to  meet  them  in  two  bands, — one  of  two  hundred  fifty 
going  through  the  woods  along  the  edge  of  the  fields  and 
forming  an  ambuscade  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Chauvin,  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  from  the  Fort;  the  other  band  of  one 
hundred  sixty  men  took  up  a  position  in  ambush  at  the 
home  of  Baptiste  Meloche,  where  their  camp  had  been 
earlier  and  where  they  had  thrown  up  intrenchments  which 
were  even  bullet  proof.  Here  they  awaited  the  English 
who  did  not  think  the  Indians  had  been  warned  of  their 
design. 

The  troops  came  on  at  a  rapid  march,  and  in  no  order, 
as  far  as  the  bridge^  ^^  at  Baptiste  Meloche's.  The  Indians 
could  see  them  at  some  distance,  for  the  moon  was  in  their 
favor  lighting  up  the  road  the  English  were  taking.  Sixty 
Indians  went  and  occupied  Meloche's  garden,  getting 
behind  the  picket  fence  which  faced  the  bridge.  When  the 
savages  saw  that  the  head  of  the  detachment  had  passed 
a  little  beyond  the  middle  of  the  bridge,  the  sixty  poured 
in  a  volley  which  surprised  the  English^  ^^  who,  without 
changing  their  maching  order 

Here  the  manuscript  ends  abruptly.  The  remainder  of 
the  journal  is  missing. 

"'Jacques  Cardinal  and  his  family  lived  on  a  farm  at  the  Grand  Marait 
which  may  have  been   the   location   of  Pontiac's  camp. 

i"On  this  bridge  the  British  were  defeated,  losing  Capt.  Dalzell,  their  leader, 
Capt.  Gray,  Lieut.  Luke,  killed  and  Lieut  Brown  of  the  35th,  wounded.  One 
sergeant  and  thirteen  rank  and  file  were  killed,  one  drummer  and  twenty-five  men 


R  C      10.5 


JOURNAL   OU  DICTATION  d'uNE   CONSPIRATION       24:3 

vers  Le  camp  de  pondiak  qui  etaient  pour  Lors  a  une 
Lieu  du  fort  du  coste  du  nord  dans  un  Endroit  que  L'on 
nomme  La  pointe  a  Cardinal.  Ces  Mrs.  avaient  mal- 
heureusement  fait  confidence  de  leurs  desseins  a  quelque 
frangois  dedans  Le  fort  qui  L'avaient  aussi  par  confidence 
repete  a  des  frangais  du  dehors  et  par  ces  confidences  Les 
Sauvages  Le  Surent,  ils  Se  tinrent  Sur  leurs  gardes  et 
pour  n'estre  pas  Surpris  il  mirent  Leurs  femmes  et  enfants 
en  cache  hors  du  camp  et  ne  Laisserent  a  Leurs  camp  que 
Les  vieillards  et  sgachant  I'heure  du  depart  de  ces  Mrs.  du 
fort,  vinrent  en  deux  bandes  au  devant  deux,  une  bande  de 
deux  cent  50  vint  pardans  le  bois,  Le  long  des  terres  et  S'em- 
barquerent  sur  La  terre  a  Mr.  Chauvin  qui  est  a  vingt 
arpens  du  fort,  L'autre  bande  de  cent  soixante  hommes 
vint  S'embusque  chez  Mr.  baptiste  meloche  ou  etait  cy 
devant  Leurs  camps  ou  il  avait  fait  des  retranchements  a 
L'epreuve  mesme  du  boulet  et  attenderent  ses  Mrs.  qui  ne 
croyaient  pas  que  Les  Sauvages  etaient  prevenus  de  Leurs 
desseins  avangaient  a  grand  pas  et  Sans  ordre  et  furent  de 
cette  maniere  jusque  Sur  Le  pont  de  Mr.  Baptiste  Meloche, 
Les  Sauvages  Les  appergurent  de  Loing,  La  Lune  les  favo- 
risait  beaucoup  et  voyant  La  route  que  Ses  Mrs.  prenaient 
il  y  en  eut  une  soixante  qui  furent  Se  mettre  dans  Le 
jardin  de  Mr.  Baptiste  Meloche,  derriere  Les  pieux  qui 
fesait  face  au  pont  quand  Les  Sauvages  virent  que  a  la 
teste  du  detachement  etait  depasse  un  peu  Le  millieu  du 
pont,  Les  Soixante  firent  Leurs  decharge,  ce  qui  Surpris  Ses 
Mrs.  qui  sans  faire  aucune  manoeuvre. 


wounded.  Of  the  60th  Regiment,  one  private  was  killed  and  seven  were  wounded. 
Of  the  80th  Regiment,  three  were  wounded  and  two  killed.  Of  the  Royal  Ameri- 
can Rangers,  two  were  killed  and  one  wounded.  A  trader's  servant  was  wounded. 
The  Indians  reported  that  they  lost  five  killed  and  eleven  wounded.  The  creek 
over  which  the  bridge  lay  was  called  Parent  Creek,  but  was  afterwards  knowa 
as  Bloody  Run.  It  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort  and  has  now 
almost  entirely  disappeared,  only  a  small  part  of  it  in  Elrawood  Cemetery  is 
preserved.  The  lower  part  is  filled  up  and  the  Michigan  Stove  Works  have  built 
upon  it. 

*"Here  the  manuscript  comes  to  an  abrupt  close  and  no  copyist  has  ever  Sis- 
covered  any  additional  pages.  There  are  many  documents  and  letters  which  give 
the  sequel  to  the  story  but  not  in  the  quaint  and  familiar  style  of  this  narrator. 


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